Yuuma's Adventures with Josh the Sidekick
by USMCcAnthem
Summary: Yuuma and Josh are just two high school students from a small town in Canada, but the unlikely happens when they are offered scholarships to Ouran Academy. However, nothing is like what they had expected! They had wondered why Ouran sounded familiar... and now what will they do about the Host Club; join them, or ignore them? Full summary inside! OC-Insert! Rated T for language!
1. Prologue

_Blanket Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership towards Ouran High School Host Club or any affliated merchandise. Ownership belongs to Bisco Hatori and Takuya Igarashi. However, I_ do claim_ ownership of my two OC's Yuuma Takahashi and Josh Keller._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hello everyone and welcome to yet another OC-insert fic of my making. This time, as you are obviously aware, it is an OC-insert into Ouran High School Host Club. For me, this means that I get to play with cliché themes that are found in a great deal of Ouran fanfics while having my own spin on things. I hope to have fun while writing this, and hope that you enjoy yourself as well. And I admit that I think that Ouran is a freaking riot; I just started to watch the anime and was inspired to write this (currently on episode 25!).

Anyway this is an introduction of story; it is in third person's point of view, unlike the rest of the story that will be in first person. Here is where I describe the two main characters, give a tiny bit of background information. This is mostly for my own entertainment… However it will tie into everything at the end.

So far I have the prologue (obviously), the first two chapters and the rough for the epilogue finished… yes I know that is a weird order to write it in, but I really needed to figure out an ending and I have to write it out to do that, then so be it! So for now I will post this and chapter one, as I'm still editing chapter two at the moment… mostly because I need to make sure everything makes sense!

*Cough* Please review, fav and follow if you find this worth your time. If not, well, enjoy the story if you wish or leave if that is your choice.

USMCcAnthem

* * *

**Yuuma's Adventures with Josh the Sidekick**

_Summary:_ Yuuma Takahashi is tall, lazy and a little distant towards others. All Yuuma wants in life is to graduate, train in Aikido and watch anime. However, Yuuma is in for a surprise of a life time when she – yes, she – finds herself in Japan, and attending Ouran Academy of all places, and not the one she expected! Now she must deal with annoying hosts while trying to find out how she managed to jump worlds, and if she'll ever be able to go back home. Well, at least she's not alone in this.

_Pairings:_ Eventual Tama/Haru and ?/OC.

Legend:

"Blah, blah, blah." – Talking in English

"_Gah, gah, gah."_ – Talking in Japanese

* * *

Prologue:

The theatre was dark and the audiences' conversations blurred together in a cacophony of sound. Soon the sound was cut off as a spotlight came to life to illuminate the stage; in the center of the light stood a tall young person, their gender decidedly male in a light blue blazer, white button down shirt, dark straight leg pants and a dark tie. The male's grey eyes shone out from behind thick, square framed glasses while their short, black hair was messily splayed on top of his head. Then the male smiled, showing straight white teeth that shone against their slightly tan skin. However, this smile – which lit up the person's face – caused a great deal of confusion for those who had thought that the person was a male. This smile emphasized the person's feminine features, otherwise ignored because of the short hair and gender neutral facial structure.

"Hello," the male finally spoke and his voice rung out around the theatre. His voice was low and soft, yet had an uncaring and bored tone to it. "My name is Takahashi Yuuma, or Yuuma Takahashi as it is said in the west." Yuuma then gave a shallow bow to the crowd that politely clapped. "I am sixteen years old and used to live just two hours drive out of Kamloops. My life has changed quite a bit since I lived there. Before I was focused on graduating as soon as I could, continuing on learning Aikido from Sato-sensei and making life as easy as I was able to. I had friends, not close ones, but friends all the same. I didn't want anything to change. I was content." Yuuma then sighed and lower his head. "It all changed that day in January and has continued to snow ball since then."

Then another spotlight flared to life, illuminating a second figure dressed in the same outfit as Yuuma. The figure, just as male as the first one, walked up to Yuuma and threw an arm over his shoulder, showing that they were the same height. He had black hair, a tad longer than Yuuma's, neater too. His skin was the same shade as the others, but his dark eyes shone with confidence and kindness, unlike the boredom in Yuuma's. They looked like brothers standing together dressed as they were. "Don't say it like it's a bad thing Yuuma!" The male chided the other and ruffled the boy's hair in an affectionate gesture.

Yuuma just sighed and shook his head, "This idiot is Josh Keller, who would rather not say his name in Japanese."

Josh rolled his eyes at the other boy, "Sure, sure Yuuma, go singling me out." He then finally released the other from his grip and smiled charmingly out at the crowd. "As Yuuma said, my name is Josh Keller; I'm 17 years old and used to be on my school's soccer team before everything changed. I had been planning to graduate early like Yuuma here, get my girlfriend to go past second-base and apply for the University of British Columbia majoring in Political Science." He then laughed and shook his head. "This didn't happen of course, but I guess that everything was going too well for it to all work out. But I can't say that I'm disappointed by what happened."

"That's because you're weird," Yuuma commented idly, looking to all the world like he wasn't standing on a stage talking in front of a large group of people.

"And you're the definition of normal?" Josh asked sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest. Many of the young females in the audience blushed as his muscles were shown through the light blue blazer he wore.

"I never said that," Yuuma said nonchalantly. "Thank you for the compliment though."

Josh pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just say the damn sentence already."

Yuuma tilted his head to the side in confusion, and some girls cooed at the cute expression of confusion. "What sentence am I supposed to say?"

Josh hung his head before he said monotonously, "Welcome to 'Yuuma's Adventures with Josh the Sidekick', I hope you all enjoy yourselves."

"Wow," Yuuma said in the same emotionless way. "You're really good at mimicking me."

Josh then grabbed the younger boy in a head lock, giving Yuuma a painful looking noogie. "You just stay quiet and don't say a thing!" He gritted out between his teeth. Yuuma dislodged himself quickly and readjusted his glasses before smiling innocently at Josh, miming zipping his lips sealed. Josh smacked his forehead before turning back to the audience. "Sorry about that, just ignore Yuuma," Yuuma smiled out sheepishly to the audience with a lazy wave. "And we truly do hope you enjoy our story that we are about to tell you. It will involve a dash of humour, a pinch of romance and a cup of friendship… and no, I'm not going to add any sugar and spice, this isn't the recipe for the Powerpuff Girls after all." The audience watched with amusement as Yuuma tried to stop his laughter from bubbling forth, which Josh ignored.

"This story is about us and about a group of people you might be familiar with, and some of you may not have heard of them. But this group is quite eccentric, flamboyant, manipulative, charming and intelligent. They are… the Ouran High School Host Club!"

The audience burst into applause and cheers while Josh grinned and Yuuma sighed. The lights soon began to dim and just before the two teens disappeared, Yuuma added one thing. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm –"

However, the audience was cheering too loudly to hear the rest of the statement as the lights finally went out the theatre was dark once more.

* * *

_Words: 960_

* * *

_Music: Trisha's Lullaby – Akira Senju (from the FMA OST 1)_

_Wolf – Exo-K_


	2. Chapter 1

**Yuuma's Adventures with Josh the Sidekick**

_Summary:_ Yuuma Takahashi is tall, lazy and a little distant towards others. All Yuuma wants in life is to graduate, train in Aikido and watch anime. However, Yuuma is in for a surprise of a life time when she – yes, she – finds herself in Japan, and attending Ouran Academy of all places, and not the one she expected! Now she must deal with annoying hosts while trying to find how she managed to jump worlds, and if she'll ever be able to go back home. Well, at least she's not alone in this.

_Pairings:_ Eventual Tama/Haru and ?/OC.

Legend:

"Blah, blah, blah." – Talking in English

"_Gah, gah, gah."_ – Talking in Japanese

* * *

Chapter 1: A Change in the Plan

"NOO ASHLEY! LET ME HUG YOU!" Alex – a tall, busty blonde – called, chasing after Ashley who looked frightened with her long, curly auburn hair streaming behind her. And she had reason to be, Alex was known for her rather crushing hugs. It didn't help that Ashley was about breast height and thus tended to be smothered by Alex's rather large bosom.

"Hey guys!" Jasmine, her dark brown hair in a messy top knot, chirped as she popped out from nowhere, her eyes closed as she beamed at us. "What's happening?"

Alex stopped her chase of Ashley to turn and pounce on Jasmine. "JASSY!" She said in a mock baby voice while the other girl was smothered in her hug. "It's so good to see you again."

"Wah~ Get off of me!" Jasmine shouted wildly as she pushed against Alex's stomach in an attempt to be released.

"NEVER!" Alex shouted, somehow dragging Ashley into the hug and rock back and forth cooing about how cute they are and how they were all besties.

During this whole scene, I sat at the cement picnic table watching this all with a blank face. Inside though I was both laughing like a mad man and feeling slightly left out. It was my own fault that I was, I knew this. Taking a bite of my rice and adjusting my thick frame glasses I watched as Dylan, another friend of mine, managed to free Ashley and the whole chase began again. I'm a pretty lazy person, and not really touchy feely. I don't like hugs and I don't like running. My friends know this, and this is mostly what my friends do; doesn't really cause a great, ever-lasting bond between us.

"Hide me Yuuma!" Jasmine cried as she curled up to the bench beside me.

"Oh no, stop, please do not hug Jasmine," I said monotonously, making Jasmine fake cry and Alex laugh before they hopped back into the game.

I rolled my eyes with a sigh and went back to my lunch musing over things. Truthfully, I didn't really fit in here in high school. I had done a lot of summer courses, so I'm actually in Grade 12 for all my core courses (mostly because I want to get out of school as quickly as I can) while I'm in Grade 11 for all the rest*. I'm actually able to graduate in January since I have enough credits and have everything I need to be able to. Thankfully though, I'm good at keeping in the background and talking when spoken to, or I would've been the target for jealous students. However, it means that I don't really manage to connect with my peers; it doesn't really bother me too much though, as I have my books and anime. I'm no otaku, but I can enjoy the ability anime gives me to escape, and books are perfect when I'm on the go.

A scream jolted me from my thoughts as I turned to watch Ashley and Jasmine tumble down the grass hill with Alex and Dylan following behind (most likely because Alex pushed Dylan over and he grabbed her for revenge). I rolled my eyes with a chuckle, now packing up the rest of my lunch to join the rambunctious group.

oOoOo

I sighed in annoyance as I stared down at my homework, running a hand through my short hair. Pushing it off as a lost cause for now, I placed my glasses on the desk and leaned back in my chair, relaxing for the first time in two hours. Really, the one thing I hated about being in Grade twelve classes is the sudden build up of homework; that and the fact that Calculus is out to get me.

"Why did I take Calculus again?" I rhetorically asked as I twirled lazily in my desk chair.

"Because you're good in math and I told you to," My mom said, startling me from my chair. I fell to the floor in a lump, not caring to move as I closed my eyes.

"So it's your fault I'm being tortured with such horrendous homework," I complained, ignoring my mom's laughter at my fall. I can feel the love mom, really.

"Would you like some cheese to go with your whine?" She asked sarcastically, "And do get off the floor, I have a favour to ask of you."

I twitched but got up with a sigh, straightening my baggy shirt from its bunched up position and placing my glasses back on, allowing the room to come into focus. "What is it?" I asked wearily. One thing that I've noticed about my mom is that she never outright asks me to do something (mostly because I won't do it). Instead she always asks me if I can do her a favour. And really, I don't like to do much more than I have to… I blame genetics for my laziness.

"Would you mind running last night's leftovers to the neighbours?" My mom smiled up at me, for I was four inches taller than her at 5'11, her brown eyes pleading me to say yes. My mom was a pretty nice person, very blunt at times and a horrible liar. However, she was very good at getting the people around her to do whatever she wanted, usually getting to know them so well that she was easily able to manipulate them… Unless it was my dad when they were fighting; or well, they don't actually fight. My parent's relationship is actually pretty stable, but there are times when they get very frustrated at each other, and both are too stubborn to drop a subject.

"Aye" I sighed and ran my hand through her hair as I walked past her, feeling her nod as I did so. I've been doing that for the past year, doing it at first as a joke before it eventually became habit. I rolled my shoulders back, enjoying the crack they made as something popped into place.

Walking heavily down the stairs, I walk past my gym bag, kicking it out of the way from where I had dumped it in the middle of the hallway earlier. I might be extremely lazy, but I do work out, mostly at the dojo. I only do Aikido, preferring to not attack, as apparently I was too hesitant. But really, why waste the effort when you can use your opponent's attacks against them?

I'm honestly very thankful that my dad managed to find a dojo that taught it; otherwise I would've been stuck with Tae Kwon Do or something equally horrendous. Before you go wondering why he wouldn't be able to find a dojo, it would be helpful to know that I live in small town in Western Canada. It's actually very surprising that there is even a dojo that offers Aikido, but I was lucky that Sato-sensei had just moved from Japan to my little town when I was five. He had opened the dojo, but had almost closed due to the lack of interest before my dad came in, dragging me with him. Word soon spread and more people joined, however the class sizes are still small, causing more personalized tutoring. I had actually just managed to gain my shodan* rank, which I had worked really hard to accomplish, and was quite proud of. My dream is to eventually reach the same level as Steven Seagal, who was at the shichidan* before his acting career took off.

Walking into the open kitchen, I spot the container of leftover curry from the night before and grab it before slipping on some shoes. Now, you may be wondering why in the world I would deliver our leftovers to my neighbours. It's quite simple actually. My neighbour had just been laid off and barely had enough money to pay for their house, let alone essentials like food. So, my mom being the nice lady that she is decided to give them our leftovers whenever we had any.

Opening the door and stepping outside into the pre-dusk, I quickly made my way to the neighbour's house. It was quite different from ours, which was a plain gray colour that blended into the background. Their house was around the same size as ours, but was white and brown, with junk everywhere. Truthfully, our neighbours weren't very keen on throwing things out now with the loss of their main income, I can't blame them for their feelings, even if it does depreciate the value of our neighbourhood.

"Hey Yuuma," Lacey – my neighbour – called down the driveway to me with a loud laugh. "It's good to see you; did your mom send you with the leftovers again?"

"Aye," I said and smiled slightly at the short woman. I handed her the container before turning around and going back home. Lacey had a really bad habit of trying to drag me into some small talk, and I'd be doing something else… like sleep or calculus homework. That's not to say I suck at small talk… I'd just rather not.

And speaking of homework, I still have five pages of Calculus left…

Damn.

oOoOo

I pulled my winter jacket tighter to my body as a cold wind blew in the parking lot. Today was my birthday, and my friends had decided that they would take me out for dinner, no matter that it was nearly pitch black outside.

"Inside," I barked out shortly, when it seemed like Alex was about to chase Ashley about. It was too cold, wet and snowy for such tomfoolery in my opinion.

My group of friends nodded quickly, following behind me as I walked into the family owned pizzeria. The door opened with a jingle and I inhaled the beautiful smell of tomato sauce while standing to the side to let my glasses defog from the temperature change.

"Hey there," a happy female voice said from beside me and I jumped slightly before turning to see Hannah, a senior who I shared classes with. She had long chestnut hair which fell straight to her waist, large grey eyes (though I believe that is from contacts, not natural like mine) and a skimpy blue dress on. I felt pity for her, as she had to be freezing in that outfit, and hoped she at least had a ride unlike my friends and me.

"Hello Hannah," I nodded politely with a smile. I wondered why she was talking to me, and if she was here with her boyfriend, Josh. Dressed as she was, I assumed she was.

"Oh, so you remember me!" Hannah giggled slightly and her breasts jiggled a bit, I looked down and noticed that it seemed like her breasts were falling out; that couldn't be comfortable.

"You look nice today," I complimented her with a half-smile. It _was _true that she looked nice, if uncomfortable. Also, her left boob was threatening to fall out, but I'm not sure I should mention that.

"Thank you very much," she smiled at me and giggled. "What's your name handsome?" She then asked while placing a hand on my arm.

I blinked slightly and looked up to her face to see an odd expression on her face. "Yuuma," my voice was empty of emotion as I tried to process what was happening. Is this girl… flirting with me? What the hell? And where was her boyfriend? Did she just squeeze my arm?

"Yo Yuuma, there's a table ready," Dylan called to me, and I nodded at him before sending a fake apologetic smile to Hannah.

"So…" Dylan started, his watery blue eyes looking at me curiously out of his acne filled face. I wonder if he would take pills for that like Alex did. "What was Hannah, the sexiest girl in our school, doing hanging off you?"

"I have no idea," I said monotonously. We both sat at the table with the others, them having already ordered for us, knowing what we like. "Isn't she dating Josh?"

"Yes," Alex nodded from her rather awkward position. She had slouched over so that her breasts rested on the table while sending funny faces to Jasmine, who reciprocated. "But she's a slut. Why do you want to know about her?"

I just shook my head, but Dylan told them, "She was all over him!"

I shot him an evil look. The bastard.

"Really?" Alex and Jasmine gasped while Ashley snorted, "Awe, you're all grown up now."

I just sighed and rested my forehead on the greasy table.

Birthdays suck.

oOoOo

Months later I was internally counting down the days until I would be finished with this farce. And by farce I mean high school. Truly, I've never seen a larger breeding ground for stupidity before in my life than high school. But that's alright, as I'm almost free.

Or at least – I soon found out – I was _almost _free, but not quite.

"Josh, Yuuma, please stay seated," My English 12 teacher said about three weeks before the end of the first semester. I blinked up at her in confusion and adjusted my glasses as I thought. I'm pretty sure that there is no reason for us to talk, I haven't missed any assignments, and I'm getting a high A in this class. With a sigh I just settled further into my seat as the other students rush out of the room to the freedom of the weekend, taunting Josh as they went. Josh Keller was a pretty popular guy, with good grades and on the schools soccer team. He wasn't a bad guy, and was interesting to talk to, as he was a big anime nut, from Pokemon to Shingeki no Kyojin. He was also half Japanese like me, except it was his mother instead of his father like me.

"Alright you two," Mrs Nelson started as she took out two folders and placed them in front of us. "You've been offered the chance to go to school in Japan until you graduate from their school. Now I know," she plowed on, as both Josh and me looked like we were going to protest; "That you two are both planning on graduating early, but this is a once in a life time chance for you both. As the school you are attending is called Ouran Academy*, which is known for its high standards. It will be very beneficial for you, especially for university."

I just sighed and opened the folder, looking through the information a bit. It contained a brochure for the school (which looked like a large white mansion*), my school records, travel info; basically everything I needed to know about the trip. Closing the folder I looked to Josh who had a frown on his face as he looked at the brochure. "Does this sound familiar to you as well?" I asked, because for some reason, the school name sounded familiar, but I don't remember where I've heard it from.

Josh nodded, "Yeah, it sounds like something I've heard from my sister, but I can't know for sure." He shrugged, indicating that he couldn't exactly ask his older sister who was currently attending university in Arizona on Scholarship; I only knew this because Josh's mom and sister came into our house squealing with my mom when it happened and shoved the letter of acceptance in my face. I don't think I've ever seen Makoto so smug before in my life, especially since that type of thing doesn't happen very often in my town.

And neither do students often get the option to go to a high end Japanese high school.

"I'll have to talk to my parents about this," I said, looking up at the teacher who had gone back to her desk after trying to pitch us the idea.

"Me as well," Josh said as he stood up from his chair and tossed his bag over his shoulder. "_Ja mata ne_.*"

"_Ja ne*!"_ I called back as I stuffed the folder into my bag and followed him out of the room at a casual pace.

oOoOo

"You know, I never did find out why Ouran Academy sounds familiar," I told Josh as we waited in the airport. Yes, that means that our evil parents were so happy and proud of the fact that we were offered to go that they were itching to send us off. We stayed in our high school until around mid-March, both of us starting an unnecessary semester before being tossed into the airport (after a six hour drive to Vancouver) with rushed goodbyes and happy tears.

"Neither did I," Josh said with a shake of his head. "My mom was making sure I remembered all my kanji before she sent me off, muttering about not being an embarrassment." We rolled our eyes together; I knew how that felt, as my dad – though he tended to be quite lax – had been just as bad.

I took off my glasses, seeing slightly blurred outlines of everything as I cleaned the lenses on my shirt. I'm not blind by any means without them, but I've worn them for so long that I find it hard to focus on things without them, which is quite frustrating. Looking around at the other passengers, I wondered if even half of them even knew Japanese. Spying a couple looking frantically through a guide book, I found my answer. I shook my head in pity before I turned and saw a blonde teenage girl looking at me. Smiling politely, she blushed at me and waved before turning to giggle at the dark haired girl next to her. Confused, I turned to Josh who had his head tilted back and his eyes closed as he leaned against the wall; maybe they were staring at him.

Both of us were standing due to having to sit for six hours just to get here, and neither of us wanting to lose the feelings in our butts. I was thankful that I wasn't going alone, and that I was at least with someone nice. Josh was a cool guy and was willing to talk with me on occasion. It helped that we had grown up together (though I could probably say that about most of my school) because of our parents, but never close enough to be good friends. I'd actually had a crush on him two years ago, but it had fizzled out by the time he started dating Hannah, now he was just a classmate to me… and now travel buddies too, I guess.

Turning to where the girls were I saw them staring at us again, bright faced and… taking pictures? I blinked at them before deciding that Josh was much safer to look at. Josh was about the same height as me, taking after his father, with short black hair that seemed artfully tousled (at least in my opinion). He was tan, muscular from working out (it was the 'in' thing to do once you hit fourteen in my town) and had kind dark brown eyes that seemed black. He was currently wearing a simple white shirt and an open plaid button up with some dark sweat pants. I was dressed similarly for comfort. Both of us had forgone wearing jackets due to the lack of comfort they would provide for the trip.

I looked down at my light blue keds and sighed in annoyance as some baby started to cry. I was really hoping that the baby wasn't near us at any point of the flight. Pushing a hand through my black hair, I just waited like everyone else, wanting to get this trip over as soon as I could.

oOoOo

I shifted in my seat, trying to wake up my butt, which was now currently numb. Josh looked over at me before he returned to his book; it was the original, Japanese version of _'Battle Royale' _by Koushun Takami*. That book actually wasn't that bad, in my opinion, though according to my friends back home, it sucked.

Pfft, shows what they know.

Crossing my arms in front of my chest my eyes looked out the window to see dark gray storm clouds. While this isn't the first time I've flown, it is the first time I've gone through a storm. Unfortunately, I'd seen many episodes of Mayday, and was slightly anxious of flying through a storm like this. Biting my lip, I tried to distract myself by doodling pictures of Naruto and Kyuubi. While I wasn't an artist by professional standards, I had the basics down enough that people could actually understand what I was drawing. As in, I could play Pictionary and have everybody understand, instead of a woman looking like a house… let's just say that Alex's drawing skills aren't the greatest and leave it at that, yeah?

This tactic didn't work very long before the plane jerked, making me jump up and look around wide eyed. The seatbelt light when off with a ding just as people began to speak loudly. "What's happening?" I heard some man ask, but I was too busy buckling my seatbelt and putting up the tray to pay attention to the chaos that was now happening in the plane. An elbow knocked mine and I turned to see that Josh was doing the same thing, just as the intercom went off to tell everybody that they had hit some turbulence and to remain calm. I motioned to Josh to look out the window, and leaned back in my seat as he leaned over me to watch the storm brewing outside. I was kind of surprised by how low we were, as I was pretty sure that we're supposed to fly over storms and the like.

But I wasn't a pilot, so what did I know?

The plane jerked once more and a flash and bang was heard from outside. Lightning, I surmised, calming down as the plane righted itself. Really, we'd be fine. Sighing at my stupidity for panicking, I rolled my shoulders back and relaxed back into my seat.

Hearing a loud yawn I turned to Josh and saw his eyes droop slightly. "Getting tired?" I questioned, surprised.

However, I was shocked into doing the same thing as a yawn escaped my throat.

"You too?" He asked and I nodded, now feeling some tiredness enter my body. It didn't make sense, but as I shifted in my seat, I had nothing much better to do anyway.

"How much longer do we have left?" I asked him as scratched my back, trying to make myself more comfortable in such horrible seats.

"Eh, I'd say about eight more hours," Josh rounded as he looked at the monitor on the back of the seat in front of him. I had one too, but I was too lazy to check for myself.

I yawned again and rubbed my eyes to remove the tears that had been caused by the action. "So we should sleep then, and pass the time quicker."

Josh nodded, "Su-sure thing."

I closed my eyes and leaned back into my seat, falling asleep after one last yawn.

oOoOo

I snuggled a bit into my moving pillow, ignoring the weight on my head. I was quite content to stay sleeping for however long I needed to. Of course, my bladder disagreed as it protested at the movement. Yawning, I opened my eyes to find myself staring at Josh's plaid covered shoulder, and lifted my hand to touch the thing on my head. Yup, that was Josh's head. Nudging his head so that it flopped in the other direction, I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed over him to head to the washroom.

A couple minutes later I was back in my seat with my elbow resting on Josh's slouched shoulder while I had my chin in my hand. I was musing my sudden sleep. Really, it didn't make that much sense. I had slept in the car on the way to the airport, and had some coffee and chocolate before I got on the plane. Really, I should be on a sugar high or something right now, not falling asleep. Josh too.

Speaking of Josh, I felt the shoulder under my elbow move as Josh woke up and yawned. I moved off his shoulder and smiled at him. He gave me a smile back as he got up to walk around a bit, obviously uncomfortable from sitting for so long.

Meh, I shouldn't worry about it.

It was probably all the stress going away.

oOoOo

"So where are we staying anyway?" Josh asked as we waited for our baggage to come onto the carousel.

I ran a hand through my hair and yawned, "Ah, we have an apartment."

Josh frowned and looked at me, "Really? An apartment each or to share?"

Scanning the bags for my distinctive red duffle, I perked up when I saw it finally go on to the carousel, Josh's bag following soon after. I didn't answer right away, instead going to grab my bag, and ignoring the huff of indignation that came from Josh. "To share," I told him a while later once we had gone outside and finished with the whole airport security business, taking the same folder Mrs Nelson gave us out from my bag to find the information. "Apparently it comes furnished and everything. Paid in advance. Thankfully we have an allowance for food, or we'd probably go hungry, as I doubt the money we brought would cover more than a month of bills – not that we need to pay for those either – and groceries. Also, you should know this; I told you three weeks ago."

"That's good then. Though I'm kind of surprised that we don't have a host family," Josh said as we tried to get a taxi, completely disregarding my last sentence.

"We do," I told him, elbowing a rude German man out of the way as I grabbed a poor taxi driver. "_We need a ride_," I said in Japanese, giving a shallow bow, "_Are you available_?"

"_Hai_*," The driver smiled and returned the bow, and I waved Josh over, following the short man to his car. After piling all our stuff in and getting into the back, I continued my conversation with Josh, "Our hosts are the Yoshida's, but they are apparently very private people. So instead of staying with them, they've made sure we have all the necessities and money we will need."

"How do you even know all this?" Josh asked, looking perplexed as I shot out information.

Exasperated, I took out a sheet of paper from my folder, I showed him the printed off e-mail. "I e-mailed them and asked about how it was all going to work out. They sent me this with all the information. They don't even have a kid going to Ouran and are very busy (and not to mention rich) people, so it's not like we'll be missing much anyway."

"Wow, I'm surprised you took the initiative," Josh teased me, and I just shook my head.

"It's less work this way," I deadpanned.

"I see," he said awkwardly. It honestly looked like he had sweat dropped, but that's not physically possible.

The rest of the ride was quiet and I appreciated the fact that Josh did not try to start anymore small talk. During the ride, I was paying attention to what we passed, especially when the driver mentioned that we were only ten minutes away from our destination. The scenery slowly but surely became nicer and nicer, until we were in a higher class neighbourhood; more upper middle class than working class. Soon, the taxi stopped in front of a four story glass paneled building; it was very modern and I liked it. "Nice building," Josh complimented as he rolled his suitcase behind him.

I hummed in agreement as I slung my duffle over my shoulder, grunting slightly at the weight. "Let's go in, shall we?"

Josh nodded, and we entered the foyer to see a short man in a simple suit waiting there. He turned to us, "Are you Keraa Joshu* and Takahashi Yuuma?" The man asking in heavily accented English, and Josh twitched at the butchering of his name.

I sighed and nodded, "Aye."

"Follow me," he then walked to the stairs, making us walk up two flights of stairs before going down a hallway to a door numbered 304. I'll admit that I was surprised by the fact that such a nice building couldn't afford to have an elevator. "I am your landlord and this is your apartment," he handed me the keys and I nodded to him in thanks. "Yoshida-sama* has already made sure everything is good with rent and bills, no need to worry."

"_Arigatou*_," I bowed in thanks before placing my duffle in the large entrance way.

"_My pleasure," _he bowed to me before leaving.

"So stuffy," Josh joked, and I laughed a bit while slipping off my shoes.

I closed the door, and ignored his shout of pain when I 'accidently' closed it on his foot. "Come on, let's check this place out," I smirked at him, as he glared at me mutinously. That's payback for not listening to me three weeks ago, bud.

Leaving the other to his sulking, I went through the arch to enter a spacious living room. It had modern furniture, most likely purchased from Ikea, and very little in the way of decoration. It was very simplistic, nothing personal. So far the apartment was more like a small house than any apartment I had ever seen before. The kitchen though was quite nice, around the same size as the one in my parents' house. It had grainy marble counter tops and a simple gray backwash that matched the stainless steel appliances, as well as a bar with stools, perfect for eating breakfast at. Though stocked with utensils and cooking equipment, it was lacking in the food department, but I found a large wad of bills on the counter with a note that said this was our allowance for the week. Counting out the bills I found out that it was 60,000 yen! That was over 600 dollars in Canadian!

Still slightly awed by the amount of money for our _weekly _allowance, I meandered into the dining room that was just off the kitchen, an office, laundry closet, Josh's room, which was noticeable by the fact that he was lying face down on the bed fast asleep, which had its own washroom. And lastly I found my bedroom. It was slightly smaller than Josh's, but it wasn't too small, and had its own washroom as well. The walls were white like the rest of the house, but it had a navy blue comforter that held the only colour in the room.

As tempting as the bed was, I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon, as we needed groceries, I had seen a startling lack of toilet paper, and I had forgotten to bring any shampoo or body wash. Grumbling to myself, I tossed my duffle and carryon into my room, grabbing my wallet while making sure to grab the money and leave a note for Josh before heading out the door. Thankfully it was only about 2 in the afternoon, meaning it was ten at night back home. The time change was really going to be a bother later, but right now I have to focus.

It was shopping time.

After trudging down the stairs, I walked leisurely out the door, making my way to the grocery store that we had passed on the way to the apartment. Taking in the sounds and smells around me, I smiled, completely at ease. I wasn't too bothered with living with Josh, even if it did mean a lot more work for myself… actually, how was I going to get everything that I needed to our apartment? I frowned in thought; really, I probably should've figured that out before I left.

I blame the time difference.

Shaking my head, I finally found what I was looking for, quickly picking a cart and speed shopping through the aisles. I'll admit to gawking at some of the items, not entirely used to the different fair that was offered in Japan. Because, yes, I was half-Japanese, but I had lived in a _small town_ in _Canada _all my life. That isn't going to bring a lot of cultural enlightenment any time soon. It was amazing that there were even three different Japanese families (Mine, Josh's and Sato-sensei's) in the town.

I grabbed a great deal of necessary things as well, like cleaning products, spices, meat, soap (laundry, dish and hand soap), a broom, vegetables, oils and basically everything that would be needed in a house hold. After all, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to survive without some rice at least every three days and I would need flour and sugar if I ever decided to bake something.

Anyway, I was soon saying good bye to a good chunk of money, trying not to cry as it was taken away. But then again, I had to buy everything from scratch, so the next shopping bill will be greatly reduced. I doubt I would need to buy any Soy Sauce or Mirin* for some time… or that much instant ramen. Thankfully, I ended getting some help from two men, Hayato and Takahiro, who helped truck all the stuff back to my apartment. Apparently we were neighbours, so they had no issues with helping me get it home. Both seemed to be well off, but not extravagantly wealthy, so it seemed my guess was correct in my assumption of the class range. I tried to pay them (with either money or food, I wasn't very picky) for their help – for I doubt I would've been able to get home without leaving some of my stuff behind – but both waved it off. However, as they walked off, I heard them mutter about such a cool dude…

Well, I wasn't complaining.

…Too much.

The stairs were evil though.

Why not have an elevator? I would've appreciated it.

oOoOo

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, but still a little sleepy. I rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom to clean up, using my new shampoo and body wash that I had purchased from the grocery store; it smelled like coconuts. After that was all finished I walked into the living room wearing my chest binder, gray baggy shirt and purple basketball shorts. Yes, I did say chest binder. I am a girl, though I didn't really care to be feminine, something I got from my mom. Actually, when I was growing up, my friends would joke around that I was a boy, referring me as 'him' until it became automatic. I wouldn't be surprised if they forgot that I was actually a girl, which gave me a great source of amusement. However, I was unfortunately blessed – or cursed, depending on your opinion – with large breasts, so I had to wear a chest binder (annoying though it can be) so they wouldn't get in the way (which is even worse than the binder).

Puttering about the kitchen, grabbing one of the sweet buns I'd bought the day before to go with my green tea. Ten minutes later, I was nibbling on my last piece to see Josh stumble into the room. I had tried to wake him up the night before for some dinner, but he was obviously sleeping off the jet lag and didn't so much as twitch when I shook him. "Morning," I greeted, awake now that I'd had some food and tea (though I could deal with some coffee as well, but we don't have a coffee maker, and there is no way I would drink that instant crap).

"Good morning Yuuma," he yawned and poured himself some milk after searching the fridge. He grabbed a bun for himself and plopped down next to me with another yawn. "So you went shopping yesterday?"

"Aye," I sighed before popping the last bit of bun into my mouth. "Ended up spending most of this week's allowance, but I had to stock the kitchen from the bottom up, so it was a necessary endeavour."

"Hmm," Josh hummed in agreement as he chewed some bread. "You probably know more than I do," Josh said once he had swallowed. "Didn't you go grocery shopping with your mom all the time?"

"Aye," I nodded, grocery shopping had been our bonding time, like aikido was with my dad. "I basically got everything we need, and some extras. There were a couple of simple cook books featuring simple Japanese meals, so I picked those up as well." Josh looked at me curiously and I took a sip of tea, "Might as well enjoy the experience. We should enjoy our roots and all that shit."

Josh snorted and smirked, "You certainly sound enthusiastic."

"Josh," I said, turning to him with solemn eyes. "I remember how you burned water." This would mean I'd have to cook all the meals for fear of food poisoning.

"That was years ago!" Josh protested loudly, glaring at me. It wasn't very effective with his bed head and droopy eyes from sleep.

"That was a week ago," I corrected, remembering how our mom's had conspired together to make sure we knew how to cook simple meals so that we wouldn't starve while in Japan (not that Josh was able to do so). They, at least, paid attention to the fact that I'd said that we would be living in an apartment alone. Though, this might've been because they were worried we'd do something inappropriate, but neither of us had any romantic feelings towards each other. Actually, I'm pretty sure he's forgotten I'm a girl like most everyone else but Sato-sensei, my family, Josh's parents and my doctor (which is an endless source of laughs for me). So we're bros.

"Whatever," he mumbled through a bite of bread.

I just rolled my eyes in frustration. "We have to go to the school today and confirm that we've made it into the country and have settled in. Also, it would probably be a good idea to call or parents and let them know that we've gotten in safely. Especially since we both forgot to do so yesterday…"

Both of us paled and shivered at the parental rage we could be facing.

"I'll go get changed," if my voice was slightly higher than usual, he made no mention of it.

"Me too," he nodded. "Wouldn't want to make a bad impression, now would we?"

We both laughed nervously as we exited the kitchen to get ready for the day.

It was going to be a long day.

oOoOo

"So, what did your friends think about the trip?" Josh asked as we sat together on the bus on our way to Ouran Academy. Both of us had changed into something more appropriate for meeting the principal of a fancy school. Josh had slipped on a pair of dress pants with a tucked in button down shirt and a dark blue sweater vest, while I had chosen a simple pair of straight leg jeans with an untucked white button down and a light blue blazer type jacket. All in all, we looked dressed to impress, but casual at the same time.

I frowned when I realized he was trying to make small talk, but since I, unfortunately, had nothing better to do, I answered the question. "Alex laughed for a bit at the irony that I would end up graduating after them before beginning to ignore me. Both Ashley and Dylan currently hate me and are jealous, while Jasmine just laughed and wished me luck." I sighed as I remembered my friends. It had kind of hurt that they had turned their backs on me, but I wasn't really that surprised, as we had never been very close. The fact was we hadn't been all that close since my birthday, and teased me about Hannah until I snapped.

I nearly jumped when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. "Poor Yuuma," Josh muttered as he pressed me into his side. "But who needs girls! We'll be bros before you know it!" He said enthusiastically with a bright smile.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I was right; he had forgotten that I was a girl. "You got dumped didn't you?"

"Screw you," he said amiably, letting me know that I had gotten the answer right.

"Ah, well then, you're better off," I patted his hand that was still on my shoulder. It was true, his – now ex – girlfriend was a slut, especially since I found out she had been out on a date with Kyle (who was on the football team) when she had hit on me… This is during the time she had been dating Josh.

"Thanks," he said, squeezing me to his side once more before he dropped his arm and we went back to the trip in silence.

oOoOo

I looked down at the brochure that showed a white mansion with impeccable lawns. Then I looked up at the light pink _estate_ that was freaking HUGE with impeccable lawns and gaudy statues. Not to mention the numerous (and gorgeous) gardens that I could see from here. It was both beautiful and nothing like what I expected.

"I thought it was supposed to be white," Josh commented from beside me. We were both looking up at the school with bland looks on our faces, not really sure what to make of this.

"And smaller," I added casually.

"Are you sure this is Ouran Academy?" Josh asked with a disbelieving look on his face.

I nodded, pushing my glasses up as they fell a bit and pointed to the fancy gold sign on the side of the gates that stated Ouran Academy; "Yep."

"Well," he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We best go in and get this over with, huh?"

"I guess," I hedged with a grimace before we walked up to the school.

Once we were inside, I couldn't help but admire the architecture. The ceilings were high and there were fancy inlays throughout the entrance way. And it was all a light pink and absolutely expensive. However, before I could look closer at the designs a woman came and dragged us through some halls before we were soon ushered into a posh office. I was going through culture shock at the moment, but sucked it up and smiled with a bow, pushing Josh down with me. "_Good morning Suoh-sama,_" I greeted him politely in Japanese. I was hoping that he was still the same man as the one in the brochure, even if he had lost weight and become squarer in the jaw.

"_Good morning you two,_" I noticed his smile was polite and kind as I rose from my bow. "_Are you two Takahashi Yuuma and Keraa Joshu?"_

I nodded, "_Yes, my name is Yuuma and this is _Josh." I motioned to Josh, who seemed perfectly fine with letting me lead the meeting.

"_Hello,_" Josh murmured and Suoh-sama inclined his head towards him.

"_It's a pleasure to meet you, especially that you were able to gain a scholarship from our fine establishment. I'm happy to inform you that any extra expenses have been paid by Yoshida-san. He was obviously quite impressed by you do to do such a thing!" _After that, I tuned him out, nodding at appropriate places. I wasn't really in the mood to listen to such blatant BS if I didn't have to. Though I swore that I saw roses appear behind him at some point as his smile turned charming… it was very creepy in my opinion. However, I soon tuned back in as he took out two slips of paper, "_You have already been enrolled in your core classes, all that is left to do is pick your electives and get your uniform._" I stared down at the long list of electives before picking World History, Business, Culinary Arts and Spanish while Josh picked French, Law, PE and Technology Studies. Suoh-sama took the papers back from us before he pressed a button and spoke quickly into an intercom. Soon, a male stood in the doorway and Suoh-sama waved us to the male and said, "_Just follow Kaede-kun out towards the fitting rooms and finish up any paperwork while you're busy._"

I didn't exactly expect the quick movements of the tailors (professionals at that) or to be fitted into a boys uniform. Though I can't say I was disappointed by this, from what I saw the girls' uniform was a bit too… yellow and poofy for my tastes. The light blue blazer, dark tie, white shirt and dark grey straight leg pants were definitely more my style. Actually the blazer was similar to the coat I was wearing earlier. Weird.

Anyway, after the tailoring was done and we had grabbed our schedules, I was happy to say that we were strolling away from the school and back into normality.

"I didn't expect that," I commented as we walked past the elaborate school gates.

"Neither did I," Josh agreed. "Though at least the guys' uniforms aren't that bad, eh?"

"Aye," I agreed. "Imagine wearing that yellow monstrosity."

We both shuddered.

It was the start of a wonderful school year.

* * *

_Word Count: 7,596_

* * *

_Music: Go to the West - Nano_

* * *

*It is actually possible to take summer courses to graduate a year early. However, I doubt it's rarely ever done because of the amount of work required to do so, as well as the isolation caused by being separated from your peers.

*Shodan: Rankings in Aikido go first by different Kyu levels before being transferred to Dan levels. A shodan is the first level of dan and is basically like a first degree black belt with the highest being tenth.

*Shichidan: This is similar to a seventh degree black belt. And this is actually true, Steven Seagal did have his Shichidan and taught Aikido in both America and Japan (the latter being quite the accomplishment for him being white).

*Ouran Academy: This is not to be confused with the Ouran Academy in the anime/manga. This is an Academy for intelligent and the occasionally wealthy. It is ranked as one of the top schools in the world in this fic. This is the school they are supposed to attend before they accidentally switch worlds.

*In the world that Josh and Yuuma live in, it is not pink, as it isn't for the outrageously wealthy or the outrageous.

*Ja mata ne: A casual way to say 'see you later'.

*Ja ne: Shortened version of 'Ja mata ne'.

*Battle Royale: This is an actual book and is quite good. I've both read the book and watched the first movie and they're a little on the violent side. However I do recommend them; especially if you think that the Hunger Games was a bit tame.

*Hai: Yes in Japanese.

*-sama: A honorific regarding someone of high standing. A maid may use this honorific for his boss, or a fangirl regarding their idol.

*Keraa Joshu: This is the Japanese way of spelling/pronouncing Josh Keller.

*Arigatou: Thank you in Japanese.

*Mirin: A cooking wine used mostly in Japanese food. I like to compare it to cooking Sherry, though the tastes are very different.

* * *

**A/N: **

Let me know what you think so far!

USMCcAnthem


	3. Chapter 2

**Yuuma's Adventures with Josh the Sidekick**

_Summary:_ Yuuma Takahashi is tall, lazy and a little distant towards others. All Yuuma wants in life is to graduate, train in Aikido and watch anime. However, Yuuma is in for a surprise of a life time when she – yes, she – finds herself in Japan, and attending Ouran Academy of all places, and not the one she expected! Now she must deal with annoying hosts while trying to find how she managed to jump worlds, and if she'll ever be able to go back home. Well, at least she's not alone in this.

_Pairings_: Eventual Tama/Haru and ?/OC.

Legend:

"Blah, blah, blah." – Talking in Japanese

"_Gah, gah, gah."_ – Talking in English

(Japanese is now the main language used)

* * *

Chapter 2: One Mystery after Another

"_You should go first_," Josh urged me.

I elbowed him in the side, _"No thanks, why don't you_?"

Once we had gotten home from the rather odd experience, the two of us had changed back into our lounging clothes before settling in front of the phone in the living room. Neither of us really wanted to use the cell phones that the Yoshida's had provided us; we weren't in any hurry after all. We had then proceeded to stare at the land line for several minutes in trepidation, neither of us making any move to call our parents.

"_As the eldest you should go first_," I argued, turning to look him in the eye with a glare.

Josh glared back with just as much ferocity. "_As the youngest they'll be the most worried about you,_" he countered.

My eyes narrowed further before I sighed in frustration. "_Fine,"_ I snarled and grabbed the phone, dialing my home number with the long distance code. I held it up to my ear for a moment, but instead of the ringing tones I was expecting, I heard a beeping before an automated voice stated, "Sorry, but the number you have dialed does not exist, please hang up the phone and try again."

I blinked down at the screen of the phone and looked at the number I had punched in. It was the correct number. "_Didn't work,"_ I mumbled, a bit confused. "_You try_," I pushed the phone at Josh before getting up and walking towards the kitchen. "_I'll make lunch while you do_."

Taking two packets of frozen ramen* out of the freezer, I set about boiling some water to get everything ready. However, I had barely started before Josh walked in with a perplexed expression.

"_I couldn't get a hold of them either_," he frowned. "_They wouldn't have changed their numbers, especially with us leaving." _

I bit my lip as I looked down at the water in the pot, "_We could try b-face*_," I suggested hesitantly.

"_That's a great idea_," Josh said enthusiastically, running into the study where two laptops were placed on the desk. I heard some shuffling, and guessed that he was trying to turn on the wi-fi or something. Deciding to just wait until he was finished, I place the noodles in the hot water while mixing the paste in a bowl with some boiling water.

Three minutes later I had just finished straining the noodles and placed them into the broth filled bowl when Josh came in with a harsh frown on his face. "_What's wrong this time?"_ I asked as I placed the bowls on the bar and went around the counter to sit next to him. "_Were they angry?_"

Josh shook his head and picked up the chop sticks, "_B-face doesn't exist_."

A clatter was heard as I dropped my chop sticks onto the counter in shock, "_What! Of course b-face exists!_"

Josh shook his head, "_No, I tried everything, but nothing is the same. Even Kiggle* doesn't exist. I fiddled with the internet a bit and found something else. Instead of what we used before, it's 'Search' and 'Mybot', but even after searching those, it showed no results to our parents._" He looked away from me to stare into the broth and said quietly, "_Or at least, nothing that could possibly be our parents._"

I just gaped at him, "_How, what, why?"_ I sputtered, going into shock. Our parents don't exist, we were currently accepted into a school that looks very different from the brochure and had a principle that looked nothing like his picture. What had happened?

"_I don't know,"_ Josh sighed as he took another bite of his ramen. "_I just don't know."_

Well, isn't this great?

oOoOo

The rest of the day we spent surfing the web, looking for information about us and our friends and family. We ended up finding some things, but none of them were particularly good. One, our parents were dead, and both of us were emancipated. Two, we apparently had adopted each other as siblings and had been best friends for years. Three, our friends back home weren't our friends, instead we had chosen to stick to ourselves, though apparently Josh had been dating and was dumped before we left.

He has the best of luck.

It was kind of odd, reading about ourselves on Mybot (which was thankfully quite similar to b-face) and yet it wasn't us. We looked the same, did the same courses, had the same family, but everything was different. I probably would've broken down before now if Josh wasn't here with me… I guess this world had one thing right, Josh was slowly becoming close to me, like a brother. He was acting like a pillar of support, and had just sat beside me in silence for a while before he went to bed. I don't know how he knew I needed his presence – or if he knew that all at – but I am eternally glad for it. But maybe he needed it just as much as I did because of the circumstances we are facing.

I looked up at my new ceiling musing what was going to happen now that we've found this out. Are we going to try and find a way back, or are we just going to wait and see? Will we end up staying here? What's going to happen to us?

I wondered if our counterparts were switched with us and thinking the very same things.

Or were we even switched with them?

I sighed and rubbed my eyes before deciding to stop thinking about it. Right now wasn't the time to think, but sleep. I could come back to it in the morning.

I turned over and snuggled deeper in the blankets before allowing my mind to drift to other things.

I don't know when I fell asleep that night, but I had no dreams to bother me.

oOoOo

It was Monday, a week after the life changing event. I still wasn't very sure what to think about everything, but both Josh and I had agreed to not talk about it for now. Instead we had focused on studying for the entrance exams (which we still needed to take, even though our attendance was practically guaranteed) that we'd taken four days previous and then going over those after the fact. Also, Josh had found a gym nearby while I'd managed to find a fairly new dojo that didn't mind me coming in every so often to practice Aikido with them. Apparently none of them (beside the instructor) had managed to make it to dan level yet, so it was good practice for them. Considering I was more focused on the practical aspect of Aikido (which many dojos didn't practice), it was interesting to see how they reacted when they weren't used to it. It was very much a give and take relationship between me and the class.

Other than that, we'd mostly been keeping busy, but today was different. Today would be the first day of school at the horrible pink school. Neither me nor Josh really knew what to expect, but decided that we best just roll with the punches. So we were soon strolling up to the school in our uniforms and I couldn't help but notice how we towered over a great number of students. I knew the Japanese were shorter than westerners, but I've never seen such a comparison before. As we walked, we ended passing by a short person in baggy clothes and unkempt hair. They stood out against all the expensive suits and horrid yellow dresses. Obviously, this person either didn't belong here, worked for the school or was a scholarship student like Josh and I, but hadn't been sponsored like we had.

"_Poor girl,"_ I muttered after we had past her, I had looked at her neck to see if she had an Adams apple. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen a cross dresser (having visited Vancouver enough times to see men dressed in drag), and after the first time I had gotten it wrong – offending someone in the process – I learned to double check.

"_That's a girl?" _Josh asked in surprise, looking back at her. I punched him in the arm to stop him.

"_Yes,"_ I hissed, "_and don't look back!"_

"_Sorry, sorry_," he held his hands up in surrender before rubbing his arm. "_Did you have to hit so hard?"_

I just smirked at him in response.

He shook his head in exasperation, "_Let's just go to class, some of the students are beginning to stare at that girl anyway, and I'd rather not have them looking at me_."

"_Aye_," I nodded in confirmation.

So far it was an interesting start to the day.

oOoOo

We found our classes together, both afraid of being lost in such a large school, before we split up to meet our teachers. Josh was in class 3-A as a third year and I was in class 2-A, being the year below him. I'll admit I was slightly jealous at the fact that he would be able to leave school earlier than me, but not too much because neither of us really knew what we would do after school ended. Anyway, I was told to wait outside by mine, who introduced herself to me as Tachibana-sensei* before going back into the class. I blinked as I placed my bag on the floor, different from the others everyone else seemed to have as it didn't look like a brief case. Oh well, I shrugged to myself. I stood out because of my height anyway, might as well add another factor to my foreigner status.

"Takahashi-kun*," Tachibana-sensei called to me, interrupting my thoughts. "You can come in now that the bell has rung." I blinked in confusion, having not heard the bell, but nodded and followed her into class. "Please introduce yourself to the class."

I nodded and then smiled at the class, ignoring how some of the girls seemed to blush like the blonde in the airport. "My name is Takahashi Yuuma, I just transferred here with my adopted brother" – I said this to stick with the story we found on Mybot – "Josh after we were awarded scholarships. Please take care of me," I then bowed to the class and looked to the teacher.

"Alright then, please take a seat next to Suoh-kun," Tachibana-sensei motioned towards a tall blond teen that seemed, shock upon shocks, to be a little taller than me.

I nodded my thanks and sat next to the guy who gave me a kind smile, "Nice to meet you, I'm Takahashi Yuuma, but please just call me Yuuma."

"Pleasure to meet you Yuuma-san, my name is Suoh Tamaki and I would like to extend the same courtesy towards you," the guy's eyes sparkled with happiness and swear there were sparkles floating around him.

I nodded, "_Aye_ Tamaki-san."

"So where are you from?" Tamaki-san asked with a handsome smile. I heard squealing and shifted my gaze to my right to see a pack of girls with hearts in their eyes.

O-okay then… "I'm from western Canada actually, by my mum's family if from Germany and my dad's were here in Japan before they passed on."

"Canada?" Tamaki-san asked, and I nodded in confirmation. "The land of snow, rugged terrain and fierce men," his eyes shone with admiration while I deadpanned. I didn't expect this level of stupidity. Doesn't being in class A mean you're smart? "You're so brave Yuuma-san," He declared and pulled me into his side like Josh did earlier that morning. Now, with Josh it was okay, I've known him for some time and we're bros now. With Tamaki-san, it wasn't alright… at all. My eye twitched violently before I pushed him away, who was too surprised to stop me.

"Don't touch me," I said monotonously, annoyed but not otherwise bothered. I turned to look at him and blinked, startled to see that he had purple eyes. I couldn't help but think they were quite pretty. Really though, I couldn't help but admit he was very handsome, in an obvious sort of way. With blond hair that fell in an artful disarray around his face giving him an almost delicate appearance, and those beautiful purple eyes shining through a naïve face so full of joy and something else I couldn't yet name. Mesmerizing would be how I would classify his looks if I had to say.

"Ah gomen* Yuuma-san, I forgot myself for a moment," Tamaki-san said with bashful grace and the girls squealed some more, causing me to jump as I had forgotten that they were there.

"It's fine, just don't do it again," I chided him slightly with a small smile. Tamaki-san, for all his touchiness and stupidity seemed quite nice… A weird kind of nice.

The teacher then took control of the class and I turned my attention to him as he did roll call.

This doesn't seem to be too bad so far.

oOoOo

It had been a week since my first day and so far I was quite enjoying my classes, as the teachers seemed interested and knowledgeable towards their subject. Though I have to admit it was weird having the teachers come to us instead of going to them, even if I do like the lack of effort needed on my part. I had managed to become tentative acquaintances with Tamaki-san and his friend Ootori-san (who I was thankful to see was the same height as me). I'm not sure if I should be surprised by their friendship or not, as Ootori-san seems very cold and efficient while Tamaki-kun seems a bit… flamboyant. Is that the right word for it? But I guess it's not really my business who they are friends with.

Really, they are opposites in everything though. While Tamaki-san was blond and full of naivety, Ootori-san was dark haired and as cunning as it gets. His hair was messy, but in a way that he knew exactly where each strand was, and fell just above his dark eyes. I was jealous of how he managed to get the light to reflect off his glasses and had tried to copy him to no effect. His smile though is what I was most interested in, not his face or his body, as it set me on edge whenever I glimpsed it. Was it fake or real? I could never tell, but something just screamed wrongness when he did it sometimes, especially when chatting to the males – minus Tamaki-san – in the classroom.

I have to admit that the two of them were interesting to watch. Tamaki-san has an odd tendency to rant on an unimportant topic adding flowery words and dramatic gestures; it was a regular comedy act for me (free too). Ootori-san had this way of smiling at Tamaki-san that would just shut him up and curl up into a ball, unresponsive. Of course, I've never actually been on the receiving end of those special smiles, so I can't exactly say that it wouldn't have the same effect on me.

Shaking my head from such thoughts, I strolled down the hallway, carrying my bento box in my right hand. I was quite excited to taste my lunch, as I had tried out a couple of new recipes and wanted to see how they tasted.

"YUUMA!" I heard someone shout from behind me, causing me to jump into the air in surprise. I soon spun around to see Josh walking up with a large smirk on his face, looking quite pleased with himself.

"_You're horrible,"_ I said with narrowed eyes, waiting until he got close enough for me to punch him in the shoulder.

"_Damn that hurts," _he muttered in annoyance. "_Do you really have to hit that hard?"_

I ignored the people staring at us, "_Did you really have to yell that loud?"_

We looked at each other before laughing. Yeah, we had gotten close enough to joke around a bit more than we used to. I was kind of surprised to find how easy it was to talk to him, truth be told.

"_You know, there are these guys in class and they look very familiar to me_," I told Josh as we sat outside under a tree. It was a nice enough day outside that we weren't the only ones meandering the grounds. "_And it's not just because one is_ Suoh-sama's _son."_

"_He said to call him_ Ojisama*," Josh grudgingly corrected –which I ignored – but nodded in agreement, "_Yeah, I understand the feeling. There are these two guys,_ Morinozuka Takashi _and_ Haninozuka Mitsukuni _that look really familiar. _Mori,_ which it seems is what most people call him, is very tall and _Honey,_ which is the _Mitsukuni_ guy, looks like an eight year old! And he carries around a pink stuffed bunny!_" Josh just shook his head with wide eyes. "_I just wish I knew why they're familiar_."

I wasn't paying much attention after he mentioned the bunny. The names all sounded familiar, like I should've known them before Josh mentioned them. Really though, a senior carrying a pink stuffed bunny would only happen in an anime… "_Anime!"_ I exclaimed at my last thought, causing Josh to look at me funny.

"_Okay, I know anime is awesome and all, but is there any real reason to go shouting it out like that?_" He asked in confusion.

"_We're in an anime Josh!" _I told him, grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him a bit. "_That's why I thought you had sweat dropped, why this school is bright pink and why _Tamaki-san_ had sparkles around him when he smiled. Why else would a senior carry a pink stuffed bunny?"_

I think he was going to shot me down right away before I posed the last question. Honestly, it is quite odd for a senior to bring a stuffed animal to school, pink or not. "_But what anime?"_ He asked, obviously trying to stay sceptical. I don't really blame him for that, as it was kind of blowing my mind at the moment.

"_I don't know yet_," I said bluntly, coming off my high for the moment. "_But I'm sure I'll figure out soon."_ I picked up my bento from where I had placed it on the ground and began to eat the tamagoyaki* I had made the night before. It was quite tasty if I do say so myself.

I'll figure out the mystery, just you wait.

oOoOo

"Hello Yuuma-san!" Tamaki-san called the moment I walked back into the class. I smiled back at him in greeting as I placed my bento box back into my bag. "What did you do for lunch today?"

"I ate lunch with my brother Josh and we talked about how different it is compared to home," I said simply, not really caring about answering. Really, why must people deem small talk such a necessary task? "What about you?" I asked after a pause, deciding that should just ask instead allowing it to become slightly awkward.

Damn society and peer pressure.

"I sat with my friends from the Host Club! The twins were being quite devious and troublesome today, but they know who is King!" Tamaki-san smiled in his handsome way, bringing a great deal of female attention. "However, they do know how to keep their princesses entertained, so I need not worry about them. They have learned from the best after all." There seemed to be rose petals spinning around him and I cocked my head in confusion.

"That's nice," I said while furrowing my brow at the still smile on Tamaki-san's face. "Are you okay Tamaki-san?"

Tamaki-san broke into an even wider smile and seemed to reach to hug me before thinking better of it. I guess he _was_ capable of intelligent thought. "Your expression is so adorable Yuuma-kun! You must do so more often!"

My face blanked of any expression at this, causing the flamboyant boy to go into the corner of the room in depression. Since when was I promoted to –kun? I guess I should retract my earlier statement regarding his cognitive functions. "He's creepy," I said to Ootori-san, whom seemed to have come over to check on the commotion.

Ootori-san pushed his glasses up with the light glaring off them mysteriously with his pleasant smile on his face, "Yes, very." He then jotted down something in the little black book he carried around everywhere. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must remove the idiot from the corner."

I nodded at him and proceeded to ignore my classmates' odd behavior.

Is it sad that it's becoming a common occurrence?

The teacher then entered the room and began to restore order to the class. However, my mind was on other things as I replayed what Tamaki-san had said. While I usually cared little for what my classmate said, something he had mentioned had tickled something in the back of my mind. It was in the same place that had been awoken by the name of the school along with Tamaki-san and Ootori-san's antics. Host Club was the word he mentioned. I'm going out on a limb that it wasn't like the common host clubs, so why did it sound so damn familiar.

Maybe talking this out with Josh again will help?

oOoOo

"_You know,_ Tamaki-san _mentioned something today that caught my interest_," I started, speaking in English, as we walked from the bus stop to our apartment.

"Tamaki?" Josh asked, looking at me in confusion with his hands in his pockets.

I nodded and side stepped a girl and her mother walking down the street, "_He's one of the familiar guys I mentioned during lunch. He was ranting like he usually does, however he something that actually caught my interest. Oh and Tamaki-san is Suoh-sama's son,_" I added the last part just in case he didn't know who I was talking about. "_He was talking about the Host Club,_" I told him the most important part, as it was the one that caught my attention.

"_Host club_?" Josh muttered as we walked through the doors to our apartment building. I made a confirming sound as he continued to think. By the time he got out of thought, we had already entered our apartment and I was cleaning the dishes I had left that morning and the night before. "_OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB!" _He shouted in surprise and shock.

I nearly dropped the bowl in my hand from shock, but managed to catch myself at the last minute. "_Yes that was what I was talking about. Why'd you yell?_" I asked in annoyance as I put the bowl in the drying rack.

"_The anime we're in is Ouran High School Host Club_," Josh explained as I finally understood and stared at him in shock.

Eventually my brain managed to process this new information enough for me to reboot._ "Awe, why couldn't we have been in a badass anime like Bleach or Code Geass? Heck, even Fruits Basket would've been better than this!"_ I uncharacteristically whined. But really, if you had just found out that you were in an anime that focused on romance, where you preferred ass kicking, what would you do?

_"I agree,_" Josh sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "_But at least it's not too bad." _

I cocked an eyebrow in question as I pushed my glasses back up my nose, _"And how could it be worse?" _

"_We could've been de-aged, or turned into animals or heck, we could've ended up as Pokémon and been stuck saying our names forever more."_

I froze as my imagination went haywire. "_We could've switched genders," _I whispered in horror, because as much as I didn't care for my gender, it was a part of me. I didn't exactly want a dangly bit between my legs anytime soon.

Josh flinched in commiseration. _"Yeah, this isn't so bad."_

He's right, this wasn't too bad.

It could've been way worse.

oOoOo

After that rather interesting conversation, the two of us buckled down in the living room to do our homework. I sped through my math, English, Spanish and science (split into Physics and Chemistry, having not taken biology) homework, with it being the same level I had done the previous year. Japanese history was a bit harder, so was Business, but I enjoyed the challenge and pushed myself harder to get it all finished. I wanted to get it all done now so that I wouldn't have to work on it later in the week and get stressed out about the left over homework.

"_So what should we do_?" Josh asked as we ate some more ramen. Really, we eat galleons of the stuff. Looking down at the noodle soup, I thought about how I should go about eating more healthy food before deciding I should probably answer his question.

"_I don't know,_" I shrugged and took another bite of noodles. After a moment I swallowed and looked at Josh questioningly, "_Do you want to get involved?_"

The question seemed to have startled him. I don't blame him though. When you think about it, if it was Naruto or Bleach, I would be the first one charging to the scene. But this isn't some shounen* anime, it was a shoujo* anime, and it had very little action in it. This anime mostly focused on romance and humour. And I wasn't some bumbling girl who had a crush on Mori and wasn't trying to get Kyoya to notice me or even get Tamaki to call me his princess. I didn't really care much for romance at all.

"_Kind of,_" Josh admitted, making me turn to him in question. _"Honestly, some of the stuff they do seems pretty fun._"

"_You've watched the show?_" I asked, honestly surprised. Though I found out he had no problems watching shoujo, I didn't expect him to watch OHSHC.

Josh nodded sheepishly, "_With my sister, she forced me at first, but it was hilarious so I continued watching it._"

_"I've only watched a bit,_" I admitted before finishing off the broth in the bowl. "_I preferred Fullmetal Alchemist and D-Gray Man personally." _

Josh just sighed.

I think I was rubbing off on him, as he didn't sigh very much back home.

oOoOo

Josh and I watched as Fujioka Haruhi walked past us with a new hair cut, no glasses and a new school uniform. I sighed in annoyance, as the first episode _was _really funny with all the silly expressions that Haruhi made, but I guess it was too late to see it in real life.

"You know we've already missed the first episode," I told Josh; we had decided to put off discussion of what we were going to do until the morning, instead talking about how we could better experience the culture of anime Japan. It had taken some talking, but eventually we had decided to speak only in Japanese, mostly so that we wouldn't mix up in the middle of a conversation like Josh apparently did.

"I know," Josh sulked as he leaned against a tree. We were outside, having gotten to school early by accident, and weren't exactly keen to enter the bustling hallways filled with screaming girls. "I really wanted to see Tamaki's face too. It would've been hilarious."

I sighed at his immaturity, even if I too had wanted to see his and Haruhi's faces. Hmm, maybe I should ask Kyoya for pictures. "Don't refer to him so informally or people will think that you have a crush on him or something." This was also a reminder for me, but I guess that it would be safe to only refer them like that in my head… and hopefully it would stay that way.

Josh turned slightly green at the mention of having a crush on Tamaki. "Thanks for the image. Besides, I could always brush it off as a foreigner thing."

"If you wish to," I said blandly, ignoring his indignant squawk with ease. "How are we going to get involved anyway? It's not like we can just walk into the club to designate a host or something; that would be rather awkward." I guess that I could, but I'd rather not have to deal with their rather odd attempts at flirting.

"True," Josh frowned as he thought about we could become a part of the club. "We'll figure out something I guess."

"Hopefully," I added before I nudged him away from the tree. "We should go in, everybody else is too," I tilted my head in the direction of the other students slowly streaming into the school.

It was just another day.

oOoOo

"Yuuma!" Josh called to me the next day after school and I turned around to see him waving me over. Running a hand through my short, messy black hair and nudging my glasses up, I strolled over to him curiously.

"What's up Josh? You know I'm supposed to go shopping today," I cocked my head to the side as I realized that he was with two other people. How I didn't notice the two figures, I have no idea. Beside him stood Morinozuka Takashi in all his tall glory with his cousin Haninozuka Mitsukuni perched upon his shoulders holding his pink stuffed bunny. I'd always found the two of them my favourite characters, even if they didn't have that big a role in the first few episodes that I did watch. Mori had been hilarious with his uncaring expressions while I suspected Hani-senpai of being a secret badass.

Looking at the two right now, I could see why they would be chosen to be in a host club. Hani-senpai was very short, but I could tell that wasn't soft, full of muscles ready to be used should he choose to. His honey blonde hair fell in disarray around his head, but suited his childish face and his eyes shone with glee and happiness; a look I was both envious and annoyed with. Envious because I didn't get to have the same closeness with anyone to bring happiness like that and annoyed because I could see him using his eyes to get whatever he wanted, and I would probably crumble easily under the pressure.

His cousin, Takashi Morinozuka, was someone that I fascinated with. I didn't get to know much about him, just snippets of things that I learned from the internet. However, based on looks alone I would have to say that he is definitely my type; tall with tan skin and dark eyes. He seemed ready to spring, his body covered with lean muscles trained religiously. The way he seemed to watch his cousin showed concern and loyalty, and his eyes expressed a lot more than I would expect from watching the anime. I do wonder if he would let me touch his hair, it looked pretty soft from my position.

What?

Having soft hair is an accomplishment.

"Hello," I greeted blankly, bowing by habit. I didn't exactly expect Josh to work so fast in becoming close to members of the Host Club.

"Hello Yuu-chan! My name is Haninozuka Mitsukuni, but you can call me Honey! And this is Morinozuka Takashi, but everybody calls him Mori!" Hani-senpai* (I chose this nickname over the one he gave me) chirped happily with flowers appearing around his head, jumping down from Mori-senpai's shoulders to tackle my waist in a hug. I stiffened slightly before deciding that Hani-senpai would probably not care about my personal space issues and relaxed. I ended up staring down blankly at him before giving a semi-awkward smile and patting him on the head. Really though, this guy is the reason I found out we were in an anime, so I could exactly let myself get too mad at him.

He also had silky hair...

That so didn't cause me to allow him to hug me.

…Really.

"Nice to meet you Mori-senpai, Hani-senpai," I said, choosing to just call them the nicknames I called them in my head. I couldn't call him Honey with a straight face as Honey is a pet name you give to a significant other, not a nickname. It would feel weird to call him Honey, especially since he is quite a bit older than me and it wouldn't be smart to forget that.

Hani-senpai looked at me from his position on my waist and smiled happily after a moment, "Nice to meet you as well Yuu-chan!" He then let go of my waist and climbed back up onto Mori-senpai's shoulders, who had nodded to me in acknowledgement. I kind of marvelled at Hani-senpai's ability to do that before an arm circled my neck, pulling me down as a fist ruffled my hair.

"How come he's able to hug you, but I can't?" Josh demanded as he gave me a noogie of a life time.

I pushed his arms away, struggling to get out from his hold. "Because he's cooler than you!" I declared before I managed to get my head free and jumped behind Mori-senpai. "And don't be jealous!" I fixed my hair – which didn't take much work due to its length and style – and placed my glasses properly on my face, as they had been knocked askew in my escape. "Why'd you call me over anyway?" I asked as I finally deemed it safe to come out from behind Mori-senpai, punching Josh in the shoulder once again.

"Ow! Must you keep on doing that? I'm going to get a bruise one of these days from your abuse," Josh complained as he rubbed his shoulder. I probably should tone down my strength when I punch him, but it was too much fun to see his reaction. "And I'm just letting you know that Mori-kun and Honey-kun will be coming over to our apartment so that we can work on our English project we were assigned today."

Okay, that makes better sense than Josh somehow becoming close friends all of sudden with those two. "_Aye, _I'll make sure to pick up some extra food for dinner, that is, if you are staying," I looked up at the two seniors who were watching our conversation with amusement.

"Sure, we'd love to stay for dinner Yuu-chan!" Hani-senpai said enthusiastically with flowers blooming around him.

"Un*," Mori-senpai agreed with a nod of his head and I smiled at the two of them before bowing.

"I'll be seeing you later then, oh, and you too I guess," I referred to Josh on the last bit, gaining a huff and ruffle of my hair before I left the group.

Now I had to get groceries and dinner.

Oh well, at least I was covered for everything else.

oOoOo

When I walked into the grocery store, I did not mean to meet Fujioka Haruhi… at all. And yet, I managed to almost plow over her the moment I entered the store. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to walk into you!" I'd grabbed her arm to stop her from falling over, and lifted her back onto her feet as I apologized. The girl was extremely light… no wonder Mori-senpai was able to carry her with only one arm. "I should probably pay more attention to where I'm walking," I added. And look down, I thought as I looked down at the short girl. She was still wearing her Ouran uniform like I was.

"It's okay, we both weren't paying attention," she said simply, and it was easy to tell her gender now with her wide brown eyes and gentle yet blunt voice. How the heck did everybody miss her true gender? At least I kind of had a deep voice, so it made sense to mistake me for male with my clothing and attitude. "You go to Ouran," her words were both a statement and a question.

"Yes, I'm a scholarship student along with my adopted brother," I explained as I walked to grab a cart, getting one for her as well. I was hoping that if I kept on repeating the last part, that I wouldn't forget it in an important situation. "I'm guessing you're one as well by the fact that you're even at a grocery store. I'm Takahashi Yuuma by the way," I gave an incline of my head to her as we walked together through an aisle.

"Yes I am, and I'm Fujioka Haruhi, it's a pleasure to meet you," she repeated my gesture and I smiled slightly at the smaller and younger girl. "So what year are you in Takahashi-san?"

"Maa maa*, no need to be so formal, just call me Yuuma. And I'm in class 2-A, what about you?" I wonder why I would ask that, even though I already know the answer thanks to Kiggle and watching a couple episodes of the anime. Then I stopped and thought about what I just did; hmm… I think that this world of anime is changing me, because this is like the third time I've participated in small talk, or maybe it's just Josh rubbing off on me. I'll have to punch him for this later.

"Yuuma-senpai then," she said blandly, reaching behind me to grab something off the shelves. "Call me Haruhi then, Yuuma-senpai and I'm in class 1-A."

I hummed as we reached the instant noodles section and grabbed a couple of each flavour, ignoring Haruhi's amused expression. "_Aye _then Haruhi-chan. So how do you like Ouran?" If I was going to jump on this small talk bandwagon, I might as well go all the way on instead of dragging my feet. It's probably less effort this way.

Haruhi shrugged, "Its fine. The classes are nice, but sometimes I can't stand those rich bastards." I nodded in agreement; sometimes it was annoying how little they valued money. "But it's only been a week, so I'm sure it will get better."

I looked at her in slight amusement before picking some ground beef and from the open freezer we were standing in front of. "I'm sure it will," I agreed, probably sounding slightly condescending. It will get better, I guess, just not in the way she might expect.

"Oh, do you know any good but inexpensive restaurants around here, because I need to pick up dinner before I go home?" I queried as we continued down the aisles at a slow pace, neither of us rushing to get home and begin our homework.

Haruhi nodded and told me where I needed to go, "It's down the block with a large sign, you can't miss it."

"Thanks," I gave her a half smile. "I'm still getting used to everything around here, as I used to live in a small town. It was much more spread out than it is here."

"Did you like living there?" She asked while she tried to grab something from the top shelf. I stepped up behind her and grabbed the can of pickled plums she had been trying to reach.

"Here you go," I passed her the can with a neutral expression on my face. The girl looked so put out it was hilarious. "And I didn't mind it, but I had no real reason to stay. My parents passed away awhile ago" – I was both lying and not, as here, they were dead. I'm quite upset about this, but I'm mostly thankful that I don't have a set of parents trying to take over for the ones I already have, even if they are technically the same people – "and my only friend was Josh. He's with me here also, so as long as I'm with him, I'll live anywhere."

She looked up at me sadly, "I understand what it's like to lose a parent." She gave a somber smile, and I could tell that she was thinking about her mom. Being briefed by Josh now seems like a good idea now that I can actually use the information. "I don't know what I would do without my dad, no matter how annoying he can be at times."

I chuckled slightly, though it was slightly choked. Damn this girl, making me emotional and miss my parents. "I agree with you, Josh is annoying sometimes, but I can't picture being without him," _here in this world_, I added the last bit silently.

Haruhi just laughed along with me before we both sighed. We continued on talking for a while longer and she ended up broaching the subject of the Host Club, eventually ranting (or ranting as much as Haruhi is able to) about how she was forced to be a part of the club. I sympathized with her, and told her that I would visit her at the club if she liked.

Her expression was priceless.

And honestly, I just created the perfect excuse to visit.

Maybe small talk isn't that bad?

oOoOo

The door slammed against the wall as I entered the apartment, having stumbled against it, trying to do a balancing act with all the bags I was carrying. I huffed out a breath as my glasses slipped down my nose and tried to fix them by twitching my nose while shuffling out of the entrance way. I honestly don't know why I bought so many groceries at one time, it wasn't necessary, and it took more effort!

I'm an idiot.

"_Yo Josh, help me out with the bags will ya?" _I shouted to Josh in English – too frustrated to speak in my second language – who shook his head at me and grabbed a couple bags from my arms. Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai looked up at us before turning back to their work.

"Why'd you get so much stuff?" Josh asked as he placed the bags on the counter. "Why didn't you just grab the essentials and just go back later during the week?"

"I was a little distracted," I said to Josh as I began to put things away, repackaging the meat so that it wouldn't become contaminated.

"Oh yeah, with what?" I passed him some vegetables, which he put away in the crisper before leaning his hip against the now closed refrigerator door.

"I met the other scholarship student at the grocery store, Fujioka Haruhi. Me and Haruhi-chan ended up talking for a bit and I just kept on grabbing things we needed without remembering that we don't need them at this moment." I gave an awkward smile to him before putting the last item into the cupboards and turned towards the dinner I ordered. "Actually, she's the one that recommended the restaurant that I went to. It smells nice and was pretty cheap."

Josh picked up the platters I finished, while I grabbed some plates and utensils, calling to Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai, "Guys, dinner is ready, come into the dining room."

"You know," Josh started as he placed the platter on the table. "This is the first time we've used this room."

I blinked, "You know, I never really noticed that."

"Where do you guys eat instead Yuu-chan?" Hani-senpai asked as he entered the room with Mori-senpai following in behind him.

"At the bar in the kitchen, and take a seat where you want," I motioned to the seats around the table. "Is there some kind of etiquette for seatting?" I queried, not knowing for my family tended to only eat at the table when we had guests over or during holidays.

"Aa," Mori-senpai nodded and Hani-senpai smiled at me from his spot at the head of the table.

"Do you really want to know?" Josh asked me as he began to serve himself, Mori-senpai doing the same for both himself and Hani-senpai.

"Not really, but it made the atmosphere less awkward for me," I deadpanned, even if I did want to know. But I guess I could always search it later. It's odd having another adjective, as I was used to thinking 'to kiggle it', which – now that I think about it – sounds really weird.

I heard giggling and looked to see Hani-senpai giggling while Josh seemed to holding back snickers. Mori-senpai just nodded in agreement, and our eyes meet in commiseration. I now know why he was my favourite host in the series. He's a guy I could get along well with.

"Yuu-chan's so silly, ne Jo-chan?" Hani-senpai asked Josh, who finally lost it and threw his head back as he let out full belly laughter.

I just shook my head at him in pity as he fell off his chair onto the ground while holding his stomach. I was interrupted from my free show of Josh's stupidity when I heard a near silent clatter. Turning, I saw that my plate was now full of the yakisoba I had ordered and blinked up at Mori-senpai who just looked down at me with a stoic expression. I smiled at him slightly in thanks before picking up my chopsticks and ignoring Josh who had finally managed to pull himself together.

"So… what'd I miss?" Josh asked as he sat back down, calm as could be. I snorted and Hani-senpai let out some more giggles, which caused the three of us to laugh even harder while Mori-senpai watched us with amusement.

Soon we all collected ourselves once more to actually eat our dinner, which was actually quite tasty. "That was really good," I commented idly as I leaned back in my seat, watching as Josh continued to eat, finishing off his third helping already.

"Un," Mori-senpai agreed with a nod. I grabbed his empty plate and stacked it on top of mine, offering a simple thanks when he passed me Hani-senpai's.

"Do you have any dessert Yuu-chan?" Hani-senpai asked me as I took the other plates off the table to go into the kitchen.

"_Aye, _I grabbed this cake from the grocery store. It was a special and on sale, so I had to grab it," I gave a half smile to the short senior and managed to keep myself steady (along with the plates) when he hugged me around the waist.

"Yes! Do I get to have any Yuu-chan?" I looked down to see him break out the puppy dog eyes. I blinked when I noticed that little flowers appeared around him, adding to the cuteness of the scene. My face blanked at the image he produced but caved in with a nod. "Yay~" He smiled and hugged my waist tighter before hopping over to Mori-senpai and began to chat with him excitedly about cake.

I never knew that you could talk so much about cake and not run out of things to say.

"Hey, hey," Josh poked me in the back of the head and placed his plate on the pile I was already carrying. I gave him an unimpressed look before continuing into the kitchen and placing the plates in the sink. "What type of cake did you get?"

"Black forest," I told him before waving him away. "But we can't eat it yet because we just ate. Go tell senpai and I will change into my normal clothes." I looked down at my blazer that I had somehow managed to keep clean. "I'd rather not tempt fate."

Josh ruffled my hair with a chortle, remembering how I had gotten ice cream all over my shirt two days ago. I don't even remember how it happened in the first place. Sighing, I walked out of the kitchen and into my room while shrugging off my blazer. Picking some clothes at random from my dresser, I meandered into the large, bright bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I quickly unbuttoned the shirt and slipped it off, leaving me in a white undershirt. Stripping down my pants, I pulled on a baggy gym sweat shirt and a pair of black track pants with zippers at the end that started off baggy and ended up tight near my calves. I stretched my right leg onto the counter and sighed as I felt the burn at the back of my leg, zipping up the bottom of the pant leg and repeated the gesture with my left. Soon I was grinning at the mirror; I couldn't help but think that I made a hot guy.

Laughing slightly at my conceded thoughts, I left the bathroom, being sure to place my uniform in the separate hamper for dry cleaning. I had to remember not to wash them, or the fancy fabric would be ruined. Which reminded me, I ducked down and grabbed the pair of socks I thrown under my bed and placed them in my regular hamper so that I could put the clothes in the washing machine when my senpai are gone… And then I'd be stuck with the laundry. Really though, Josh is good in many things, like sports and school – eating too – but if it's anything house work related, he tanks. He burns water, causes dust bunnies to procreate in his presence when carrying a duster and causes the washing to malfunction if he even touches it. And sadly, I'm not exaggerating.

"YUU-CHAN!" Hani-senpai threw himself at me the moment I left my room, his legs latching onto my middle and his arms around my neck, making his face uncomfortably close to mine. "Jo-chan is taunting me with the cake, saying I can't eat it!" His eyes were wide and pleading. And was he… crying? I closed my eyes for a second before looking for Mori-senpai. If Josh was doing anything to harm Hani-senpai, then Mori-senpai would've taken care of it. I ended up finding him looking at the two of us in amusement from his position on the couch with Josh sitting next to him with the cake on the coffee table, still covered. I sighed to the side. Of course, he was being tempted if it was right in front of him.

"Come on Hani-senpai," I said idly, "let's have cake now." Hani-senpai cheered and got off of me at record speed to sit at the table with a plate and fork all ready for cake eating.

I walked leisurely up to the table and sank to the floor easily. "You're so mean Yuuma," Josh complained from his seat on the couch, looking quite pitiful. "You let Honey-kun eat cake when he asks, but tell me no when I do! Do you not love your brother?"

"No," I deadpanned before watching in amusement as he went into a corner. "And you're not very good at being upset in your emo corner. I have a master in my class that has you beat."

Josh laughed at that and ruffled my hair as he went back to his seat. "Who is it?" He asked, even though he knew the answer. I didn't answer for a moment as I had finally caved under those evilly manipulative eyes of Hani-senpai's and cut the cake up. After giving him a very large portion, as well as a similarly size portion for Josh, I gave myself the pitiful remainders of the cake after Mori-senpai silently declined to have any.

"Ah, it's Tamaki-san, I mentioned him, remember?" I said that last part more our guests benefits, one of which had perked up at the mention.

"You know Tama-chan?" Hani-senpai tilted his head cutely to the side in question.

I nodded, "Un, he's in most of my classes, along with Ootori-san. How do you know of him?"

"Me and Takashi are in the Host Club with him!" Hani-senpai chirped cheerfully and I now knew why so many girls thought he was so adorable. I honestly only liked him because he seemed like a certified badass in a tiny, cute package. But I could now see the attraction to his childish side. "Tama-chan is really nice, ne Takashi?"

Hani-senpai turned his large light brown eyes onto Takashi, who nodded in agreement, patting the smaller boy on the head.

"Tamaki-san seems really nice," I agreed easily. "I tend to find him similar to a girl I went to school with, she has the same dramatic flair that he does. Except he's more genuine in his actions and his actions don't seem to have the mean intentions that she did." My eyes narrowed in frustration as I thought of my – now – ex-friend Alex. I had always known she was cruel, but she had been one of the people I had been closer to, and then she just decides to stop talking to me. Her reaction to the news that I would be going over the pond had hurt me the worst. I was just thankful that she hadn't been _too_ close to me or I probably would be more than just a little annoyed like I am now.

Josh gave me a sympathetic look. He might not have known which friend I was talking about, but he knew that I had a rather bad split from my friends thanks to the evil known as small talk. "Ne Yuu-chan," Hani-senpai said, bringing my attention back to him. His wide eyes were serious and compassionate, shocking me for a moment before realizing that this was the eighteen year old behind his childish behaviour. "You don't have to worry about Tamaki or us doing something to hurt you."

I blinked at him before considering his words. While we weren't close by any means, he was probably right. None of them – Tamaki, Hani-senpai or Mori-senpai – had any intentions to hurt me in anyway unless I did something to warrant it. I nodded thoughtfully, giving the small senior a pat on the head before slowly working on my slice of cake.

I guess that this could be a new start for me.

Maybe I might be able to gain some close relationships with my peers.

Looking up to Josh and watching as he laughed at something Hani-senpai said, I think that I've probably already started.

This might not be so bad after all.

* * *

_Word Count: 9,001_

* * *

_Music: The Beast – Nano_

_Nillili Mambo – Block B_

* * *

*Frozen Ramen is an actual product. Basically it's fresh noodles that have been frozen with some soup base in a paste form. It's quite tasty, and much better than regular packaged ramen.

*B-face: Facebook basically, but with a different name.

*Kiggle: A horribly renamed Google.

*Sensei: For all those that don't know, sensei can refer to a teacher, instructor or doctor. In some cases, people use it to refer to writers as well.

*-kun: This is another honorific, usually used towards males or a younger person.

*Oji-sama: A formal way to say uncle in Japanese.

*tamagoyaki: this is a Japanese egg side dish which is cooked in many layers. It is both tasty, easy to make and can be eaten hot or cold, thus making it a popular item in bentos.

*Shounen Anime: This is a genre of anime or manga usually targeted towards young males. Examples of this are Death Note, Fairy Tail, Code Geass and Fullmetal Alchemist.

*Shoujo Anime: This is a genre of anime or manga usually targeted towards young females. Examples of this are Ouran High School Host Club, Fruits Basket, Sailor Moon and Vampire Knight.

*-senpai: This is another honorific usually describing someone older (or higher up) than you in a particular field. This can be used at work or in schools.

*Un: means 'yeah' in Japanese.

*Maa maa: Means 'now, now' in Japanese.

* * *

**Thank you to:**

**Rosezelene Ersa:** Thank you so much for reviewing, favouriting and following this story! I was going for the slow integration at first, as I wanted to show that it wasn't really in Josh and Yuuma's intentions to go to Ouran, while building a basic personality before diving straight into the interaction like I do in this chapter. And I'm trying to keep the chapters long, so it will be interesting to see if I can. :)

* * *

**A/N:**

Interesting? I hope so. Let me know your opinion!

USMCcAnthem


	4. Chapter 3

**Yuuma's Adventures with Josh the Sidekick**

_Summary:_ Yuuma Takahashi is tall, lazy and a little distant towards others. All Yuuma wants in life is to graduate, train in Aikido and watch anime. However, Yuuma is in for a surprise of a life time when she – yes, she – finds herself in Japan, and attending Ouran Academy of all places, and not the one she expected! Now she must deal with annoying hosts while trying to find how she managed to jump worlds, and if she'll ever be able to go back home. Well, at least she's not alone in this.

_Pairings_: Eventual Tama/Haru and ?/OC.

Legend:

"Blah, blah, blah." – Talking in Japanese

"_Gah, gah, gah."_ – Talking in English

(Japanese is now the main language used)

* * *

Chapter 3: Acclimating to the Environment

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I walked down the halls towards the third music room, very thankful that I had managed to procure at map… don't ask me how though. It's probably a part of the anime magic; after all there's more than just sweat dropping and glitter available for the everyday animated person… even if I don't look like one. Anyway, I was walking down the hall towards the host club to visit Haruhi-chan like I'd promised the day before. Though, I probably should have mentioned this to Josh as he'll worry about me like the big brother he's becoming.

Oh well.

Finally finding the doors, I pushed down the handle to see rose petals flying towards me. I breathed through my nose as a precaution as I stepped further into the room to see the Host Club in various poses.

"Welcome~" The greeted me before they realized just exactly who I was.

"Yuu-chan!" Hani-senpai cried before throwing himself at me. I held out my arms expectantly, as he had done this a total of twelve times during the remaining time he and Mori-senpai had been at my house. He would probably be the first person I had allowed to hug me in a long time besides my parents and Josh (kind of). I don't really know why, but I guess his childish demeanor just caused me to easily accept him. "What are you doing here Yuu-chan?" Hani-senpai asked from his very close position to my face, his legs wrapped around my waist while his arms were wrapped around my neck; otherwise known as his – now – usual position.

"I promised Haruhi-chan that I would visit," I said with a sigh, lifting Hani-senpai off me to pass him to Mori-senpai, who had walked up to us during our mini-conversation. I gave him an incline of my head in greeting, which he returned with a solemn nod. Mori-senpai, though tall and stoic, wasn't all that scary, I actually preferred to think of him as shy… he's just better at hiding it than others. Though this is just what I have noticed.

"Hello Yuuma-senpai," Haruhi greeted me with a shy smile and I nodded to her. I was able to understand why she was a host, as she was very adorable and open when she smiled like that.

"You know Yuuma-kun, Haruhi-kun?" Tamaki asked Haruhi as he got up close to her face, hugging her tight. "Why didn't you tell me?" He wailed as he started to panic about someone taking advantage of her.

I hope he wasn't talking about me, because then I'd demote his brain status to Flea.

"I don't need to," Haruhi said with a blank expression which sent him into the corner of depression.

I just stared at him for a second before turning to Kyoya and handing him some money, "I will designate Haruhi-chan today." He took the money from me, checking to see if it was the right amount, before he nodded back to me in acknowledgement and I was assaulted on both sides by the twins.

"Who are you?" They asked at the same time. "And how does everyone know you but us?"

I sighed in annoyance but answered their question, "I'm in the same homeroom with Tamaki-san and Ootori-san, my brother has a project with Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai while I met Haruhi-chan in the grocery store yesterday after school." At that, I pushed the two twins away from me with surprising strength (for them at least) and went over to the table where Haruhi-chan had gone back to entertaining some ladies.

"Good afternoon," I politely greeted all those at the table as I took out a chair for myself to sit.

Haruhi-chan smiled at me, "I'm surprised you actually came today Yuuma-senpai."

I shrugged and gave a half smile, ignoring the girls who seemed to be whispering with small bursts of squealing every few breaths. "I promised," I elaborated when it seemed the younger girl was going to go on about the subject.

"Umm…" One of the girls spoke up looking at me, hinting for me to introduce myself.

"Takahashi Yuuma, in class 2-A," I spoke simply, inclining my head to them. "And you are?" I didn't really care, but I did say (or think) that I was going to start doing this 'small talk' thing, so I guessed I must.

I was slightly confused by the hearts now flying around their heads but still listened – not really, but I pretended to – as they introduce themselves. "So why are you here?" One of the girls asked me.

"Don't ask that," one of her friends chided her, nudging her lightly in the side.

"It's fine," I cut her off before the original girl (whose name I'd already forgotten) began apologizing or some such nonsense. "I met Haruhi-kun" – I had to mentally remind myself to use the more masculine honorific – "yesterday while shopping and he talked about the club. I decided to come and see why he joined, but it's obvious now." I was mentally laughing at the BS I was sprouting while Haruhi-chan continued to smile, though I saw her glance at me out of the corner of her eye. Flashing a small smile to her I turned back to the ladies, "It's obvious that he came here for you." I was looking at the small group of them with a neutral expression now plastered over my face so that I wouldn't burst out laughing at their love struck expressions.

The small coughing fit I heard from Haruhi-chan showed that she was having a similar problem. I picked up the teapot sitting on a nearby tray and poured some more into her cup. "Have some more tea; it will help with your throat." Okay, so I admit that I was kind of mocking her right then, but I couldn't help it.

Haruhi-chan opened her mouth to retort, but before she could, the door to the music room opened once more and Tamaki's weird death by roses welcome began. I twisted around in my seat to see who had entered and then sighed at the sight that met my eyes.

Josh stood stock still in the doorway covered in rose petals looking as though he had just walked in on his parents bumping uglies. I pushed up my glasses as I stood from my seat, bowing politely to the girls surrounding the table before walking over to my brother by circumstance. "Josh," I said monotonously while looking at him oddly. "What are you doing here?"

Josh finally came back to life to stare at me in annoyance, "No! The real question is what are you doing here?" He had his arms crossed against his chest and was blatantly ignoring everyone who was now staring at him.

"Visiting," I answered simply, waving towards Haruhi who watched us in interest. "You should too. You're disturbing the ladies." There went some more squealing, which led me to guess that I was getting some fans. I'm not sure if I should be flattered or freaked out by this realization.

"Jo-chan!" Hani-senpai shouted as he came from out of nowhere, hugging Josh around the middle before hopping onto my shoulder. I was quite surprised by the action, as I didn't think that he did that with anyone but Mori-senpai. My head tilted to the side slightly so I could look at him better and he smiled down happily at me with flowers around him. I shrugged my left shoulder and placed a hand on his hip so that he wouldn't fall.

I'll think about his actions later.

"Hey Honey-kun," Josh greeted belatedly, looking at the two of us in bemusement. He ended up having to talk a bit louder than usual because of the large amount of squealing in the background. I'll admit that the squealing was the one thing I was most ashamed about when it came to my gender.

It was so _high pitched_ and it wouldn't _stop. _

"So what are you doing here Jo-chan?" Hani-senpai asked innocently and I chuckled slightly at the fact that he had basically asked the same question as I did.

"Well…" Josh started, trailing off to look at me beseechingly. "I _was _looking for Yuuma, as he left without telling me where he went, but now that I've found him, I'm not really sure what to do."

"Ne, ne, Jo-chan should join me and Takashi! Ne, Takashi?" Hani-senpai suggested, wriggling on my shoulder slightly in excitement.

"Aa," Mori-senpai agreed from behind me, and it took all my effort not to jump in surprise from how close he was to me.

Josh laughed at my expression but nodded all the same, "Sure thing."

I felt a large hand on my head for a second, and realized that it was Mori-senpai's, and loosened my hold on Hani-senpai's waist in acknowledgement. Hani-senpai than stood up on my shoulder – and wasn't I suddenly thankful that he was very light or I would've tipped over – and hopped off. I turned around to see him perch on Mori-senpai's shoulder and he smiled. "Yuu-chan's good at taking care of me, ne?" Hani-senpai asked Mori-senpai, who nodded in agreement.

"Un." I smiled slightly at them before turning back to Josh who watched the whole thing in unconcealed amusement.

I looked at him in question, wondering if he was going to say anything about the fact that I didn't tell him where I was going. Josh just shook his head at me and reached out to ruffle my hair, "Just tell me next time, _eh?_"

"_Aye,_" I nodded, realizing that he must have been worried about me. It was one thing to not tell him usually, but we were in a very different world. Heck, Yazuka children and heirs went to this school. For all he knows, I could've offended one of them by accident and been targeted by them. And then the next I would know, I would end up dead in a ditch somewhere and he would be identifying my body!

…And I'm going to pretend I didn't think that.

It's a rather disturbing thought.

oOoOo

I was going through a life or death decision.

If I did not make this choice, the world would surely end.

I looked down at my hands in morose silence, my grey eyes hidden behind bulky framed square glasses yet – I'm sure – showed the seriousness of the situation. Beside me, Josh was staring at the items in my hands with complete focus.

Chicken… or beef?

I looked down to my left hand which held a packet of instant ramen proclaiming 'chicken flavoured' before shifting my eyes to the right and looked at a near identical packet except for the colour and flavour.

"Chicken." Josh and I said at the same time before looking at each other and nodding. Good, dinner is decided.

I then set about boiling some water before turning back to Josh. "So, what did you think of the Host Club?" I asked as I cut open the packages, taking the soup base packets out of them.

"It's a lot weirder than in the anime," Josh said, and I twisted around to see him scratch his head in thought. "Though it _is _amusing to watch Honey-kun twist all those girls around his little finger."

I nodded and gave a small laugh, "Yes, it's also very amusing to do." I inwardly cackled as I remembered a couple girls fainting when Haruhi-chan and I smiled at each other after I had gone back to her table. It hadn't been that funny while watching it, but looking back, I could help but find it hilarious. And really, I'm allowed to laugh at my own genders stupidity… and I admit that I would probably do the same thing (in my head) if someone like Hatake Kakashi smiled at me (with or without the mask). But then again, Kakashi is a badass… enough said.

Josh laughed at me, "You were acting like a freaking host with Haruhi. I think that Kyoya has his eye on you now!" I tilted my head in question and Josh explained, "You might've been busy but I noticed how his glasses kept on glinting in your and Haruhi's direction. The two of you took costumers from Tamaki, the twins and Honey-kun! Not enough for them to outright notice, but enough for Kyoya to tell."

"Huh," I sighed in slight surprise. "That's interesting."

Josh shook his head and lifted his hand to fix his bangs, which had fallen into his eyes, "Only you would think that."

"Maa maa, don't be jealous," I said emotionlessly while placing the noodles into the now boiling water. I didn't turn around to see his expression, but I'm sure it was entertaining. "I'm sure you could be a host too if you wished."

"Yuuma," Josh deadpanned, and I turned to see an unimpressed expression on his face, "Shut up."

I huffed out a laugh, but did as I was told.

Teasing is only as fun as the reactions it causes.

oOoOo

It seems as though Josh was correct in his assumption. I nodded politely to Kyoya, who was scrutinizing me through his glasses. I'll admit that it was slightly intimidating, and I wasn't sure if I found it as interesting as I had the night before. Considering he sits behind me, he would have the perfect chance to watch me with no one the wiser. I stood up in my seat and straddled the chair to meet his look head on. "Is there anything I can do for you Ootori-san?" I asked lifelessly as I sat in my seat, not willing to deal with the stares all class.

"Please, Yuuma-san, call me Kyoya," Kyoya said pleasantly and I nodded. "And yes, you can help me."

Tamaki beamed beside me, pushing his head between the two of us, "Yuuma-kun, join the Host Club!" Obviously he wasn't willing to go through the slow approach.

Kyoya's smile froze for a second before stating, "Tamaki, do not be so forceful." He turned to me, "And you do not have to if you do not wish to, Yuuma-san."

I took off my glasses and closed my eyes in thought, my head resting in my hands. While I had pondered over what I would do if asked last night, I hadn't seriously thought about it. Now, here I was being offered a position by the president and the vice president of the club. Obviously Kyoya thought that I would be beneficial to the club in some way. I frown slightly and wondered just how much information the other had on me. Did he know if I was a girl? If so, why would he ask me to be a part of the club? It's one thing to ask Haruhi, but to ask me too?

I slowly sat back up, placing my glasses back on my nose and turned back into the conversation around me. I looked to my left and noticed that Tamaki wasn't in his seat. Blinking I searched the room for a moment and found him upset in the corner. However, he then turned towards me and I froze.

The puppy dog eyes.

Those are evil weapons that I could never say no to, no matter how hard I tried. This might be due to the fact that I hadn't had them turned on me enough to become desensitized or maybe because I was a softie at heart. But as he stared at me beseechingly, I couldn't help but sigh to Kyoya and say, "I'll do it."

"YES!" Tamaki cried, jumping from his corner to affectively glomp me and babbling about how happy he was. I let him for a second, the eyes still having an effect on me, before pushing him off.

"Don't hug me," I told him emotionlessly. However, he was obviously too happy to be bothered by this today and continued to babble on, though thankfully in his own seat.

Just what was I getting into again?

oOoOo

I followed behind Tamaki and Kyoya at a sedate pace as we went to the cafeteria. Usually I ate lunch alone outside, sometimes with Josh, so this would be the first time seeing the cafeteria… And I would have to eat with the Host Club. I kind of wondered if Haruhi would be there, as she was interesting to talk to.

"YUUMA!" Josh yelled, startling me once more. One of these days I'm either going to become used to his loud shout or I would get him to be quieter.

I'm hoping for the latter.

I turned and stared at him blankly as he ran up next to me, idly noticing that Kyoya and Tamaki had stopped as well. "What?" I asked tonelessly, waiting until he came up close enough to punch him in the shoulder.

"_Ow! _Why are you so mean to me?" He complained before realizing that there were two people who usually didn't see this. "Oh, hello," Josh greeted, not at all polite. I slumped slightly and silently apologized to his mom for not making him practice his manners properly.

I shook my head at him but 'introduced' him to the others. I put quotations there as he already knew who they were, but this is all in polite company, so I must. Being in Japan is really brought those stupid manner lessons my grandma made me take before she died into the front of my brain. Next thing I'll know, I'll be sitting upright and acting demure. "Josh, these are Tamaki-san and Kyoya-san. Guys, this is Josh, my adopted brother," I bet that Tamaki is the only one that actually got anything new out of that introduction.

"It's very good to meet you!" Tamaki said smoothly, showing that he does have manners behind his crazy behaviour.

"A pleasure," Kyoya inclined his head with that pleasant smile of his.

Josh just waved and I resisted the urge to punch him again at such a lack luster action. Idiot.

"I was going to eat lunch with them today," I explained to Josh blandly.

Josh ruffled my hair, "It's good to see that my little bro is learning to socialize."

I just stared at him with no expression on my face.

He laughed awkwardly for a moment and turned to Kyoya, "Do you guys mind if I joined you? I was planning on eating with Yuuma today." He gave me a significant look, to which I nodded. So he had realized what it meant for me to be eating with these two classmates. I was a host, or at least for now. It's probably temporary to see if it will all work out or not.

"It's no problem," Kyoya said easily, whipping his black book from out of nowhere to start scribbling in it. I'll admit to being curious as to what he put in there. He then started to walk away, obviously leading us to the cafeteria. Tamaki jogged to catch up with him while Josh and I slowly followed.

"_So… you're a part of the host club now?" _Josh whispered to me in English and I nodded.

"_Yeah, they asked me before classes started," _I answered back easily, stuffing my right hand into my pockets while adjusting my grip on my bento box. _"I couldn't say no."_

_ "You're only saying that," _Josh shook his head in amusement, throwing his right arm over my shoulder to give me a partial hug.

I frowned up at him in annoyance, "_No, I do mean that I couldn't say no. Tamaki-san brought out the_ eyes."

Josh's dark eyes widened as he stared at me in shock, "_You mean…"_

I nodded and sighed to the side.

Josh barked out a laugh, which caused the two ahead of us to look at us.

"What's so funny Josh-san?" Kyoya-san asked coldly, pushing his glasses up as he did so. I wondered why he would call Josh by his first name, as I had to tell him to refer to me so informally. Then I remembered that I had introduced him by his first name, and though I don't doubt that Kyoya already knows Josh's last name, he's probably being polite. Really, I think that Josh should get lessons from him.

I yawned slightly as Josh explained that I had told him about joining the club and I ignored the rest. Instead I watched the people walk past us with heavy lidded eyes. I could easily tell that the boys were popular with the girls. The girls – in those horrid yellow dresses – giggled slightly behind raised hands and watched them with heart filled eyes. Some whispered, discreetly pointing – for to point outright would be bad breeding – at Josh and I, as their eyes roamed over us. I'll admit that their stares were intimidating in their intensity, so I chose a new subject to watch. Instead of observing my gender, I turned my attention to the males. Envy was an easy thing to spot in many of their eyes, but so was a mixture of respect, awe and fear. Who would they fear? Kyoya perhaps; he seemed to be quite sharp, and he did have the whole Ootori private police force at his beck and call. Yes, that makes the most sense.

I turned to scrutinize my classmate, and noted his graceful gait. It was refined and elegant, seemingly as though he were of royalty rather than the third son of a business man. However, I couldn't help but notice that his strides held not only pride, but a hint of resignation and stress. What would he have to be stressed about? Yes, I'm sure it's difficult to run the Host Club, especially with someone as flamboyant as Tamaki as the president, but I'm not sure that's why. I'll leave it for now, as it isn't any of my business. It's not like I could do anything to help.

"Ah, there's Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai," Tamaki declared with a charming smile on his face, and I realized that I had managed to zone out through the rest of the walk to the cafeteria. Not that it looked like any cafeteria I had ever been in, except for the chatting and giggling teenagers… that wouldn't change, even if their conversations differed.

"Wah~ Tama-chan and Kyo-chan are here! And they brought Jo-chan and Yuu-chan!" Hani-senpai exclaimed with happiness as Mori-senpai placed a large slice of cake onto his plate.

I gave a small smile in greeting, nodding my head to his cousin, before turning to my bento. It was just some carrot sticks, some apple slices and onigiri* with nori* in the middle. I picked one of the onigiri, nibbling on the top before looking up to see Tamaki watching me curiously. I tilted my head in question, "Tamaki-san?"

"Is that a commoner's bento?" He asked looking at me with his big purple eyes and his hands clasped together.

I nodded slowly while taking another bite of rice, not offended, but certainly curious as to where he was going with this.

"Sugoi*! It's so small and simple!" He exclaimed in amazement, leaning forward to examine it closer. Again, I would feel offended if it weren't for the fact that I made it simple in the first place and it was quite a small lunch compared to what he and the others had procured while I had been distracted by my own thoughts. "Look Kyoya, isn't it so cool?"

Kyoya looked at him and then looked at my bento, "That's nice Yuuma-san." He then smiled at me, though I could tell that he really didn't care and was more than likely humouring Tamaki.

I smirked slightly but nodded all the same, finishing off the first onigiri before starting on my carrot sticks. Josh nudged my arm and I turned to see that he had stuck the carrots sticks into the onigiri to make it like a person. I snorted and plucked one of my carrot sticks from my bento and tossed it at his head. He caught it in his teeth and made crowd noises while I shook my head at him and Tamaki laughed.

Idiots, both of them.

As I turned back to my lunch, I heard Hani-senpai say, "This is fun, ne Takashi?"

"Aa," came the answer and I hid my small smile by shoving a carrot stick in my mouth.

It wasn't that bad, I'll admit.

Being included is very different from watching from the outside.

And I think I like it.

oOoOo

This… was kind of uncomfortable.

I shifted slightly in my seat as I was stared down by two identical pairs of eyes and sighed when all they did was smirk. It was the end of the school day already and today had been my first day as a host. It wasn't that bad, I'd flattered the girls who'd designated me and steered the conversations towards them. You know, asking about their families, vacations, favourite seasons, anything really. I think they enjoyed being able to talk about themselves without any criticism – I could care less if girl number one felt insecure because her sister was better than her – as they had declared that they were going to tell their friends and designate me tomorrow, which would be the last day of Host Club for this week, as Kyoya had said the club wouldn't be open this Saturday for whatever reason. I wouldn't complain.

Anyway, after all the guests had left, the hosts had all congregated towards some couches in the middle of the room, where the twins had proceeded to stare me down and not say a word. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly happy with the arrangement.

Keeping my face blank, I finally decided to ask, "Why are you staring?"

The twins looked at me for a little while longer before nodding together, "He's seems interesting enough Tono*." The way they spoke in unison was intimidating and quite odd. "He'll be a new toy for us to play with; although Haruhi-chan is our favourite."

I idly wondered if I should be offended that they see me as a toy. They I mentally shrugged it off; it would be too much work for me to try and change their minds. Taking in their mischievous and bored appearances, it would probably be best if I just went with the flow.

"Yuuma-senpai is not a toy," Haruhi spoke up, glaring slightly at the twins. "And neither am I," Tamaki nodded furiously in agreement to this last bit.

"Yes, Haruhi-chan is not a toy for you devious twins to play with," he declared hotly before he added, "And neither is Yuuma-kun. Right, Yuuma-kun?"

I looked up from the finger nail I had begun to pick at to look at Tamaki blandly. "I care little for what they call me," both Tamaki and Haruhi sweat dropped while the twins burst out laughing.

"Why? It is insulting to be referred to as a toy," Kyoya asked with his little black book out, ready to write down my response. Twins had stopped laughing to hear my answer.

"Because," I started monotonously. "Common sense dictates that they won't change their opinion, so I'm taking the route with less effort." Kyoya nodded and wrote… something, while the rest deadpanned.

Then Haruhi spoke up from beside me, "So basically, you're lazy."

"Hai." Really, they are beginning to know me so well. It took my friends back home three years to realize this particular trait of mine.

"On a scale of one to ten," the twins said together, "what would you rate your laziness?"

I sighed, "Why would I rate my laziness in the first place?"

The twins nodded, "Ten then."

"Maa maa, Yuu-chan's not that lazy," Hani-senpai cut in, finally looking up from his cake. I wondered just how much cake he ate in a day, but decided that the number would probably give me stomach aches for weeks. "He does the housework and goes to a dojo a lot." I nodded silently in agreement.

"WHA'? How do you know this Hani-senpai?" Tamaki burst out, staring down at the shortest host.

"I was over at his and Jo-chan's apartment two days ago," he stated, shocking everyone but Kyoya and Mori-senpai. I doubt that Kyoya would be surprised by much, and he seems like the kind of guy to be thorough in finding things out. "And I asked him why he did the dishes and not Jo-chan, seeing as Yuu-chan had gotten the groceries and dinner. Apparently Jo-chan is challenged when it comes to housework." I shuddered slightly as I remembered the horror stories that Josh's mom had told me, though she'd still held out hope for him. She'd always believed that he did it on purpose to get out of the work. But I knew better after I had to call the repairman to fix the washing machine last week when he attempted to help me out with the chores. Nothing is safe from his house wrecking hands.

He creates a new definition for home wrecker.

"Yes, and Yuuma-san has his black belt in Aikido," Kyoya added, looking up from his book, allowing the light to block his eyes. One of these days I will be able to replicate that move… just watch.

"Huh," the twins murmured in unison before apparently getting bored with the subject and turning to Tamaki to harass him.

"Ne senpai?" Haruhi spoke up from beside me and I stopped watching Kyoya write, trying to figure out his glasses move, to look at her. "Is that true? That you have a black belt I mean."

"Hai," I stated simply. "I received my Shodan in September."

I smiled slightly, remembering how proud my dad had been of me when I had finished the test. Usually they wouldn't give out the dan rank until you were at least 16, but Sato-sensei had allowed me to try early, stating that I already knew and was dedicated enough to receive my new rank. It had definitely been an accomplishment for me.

"Sugoi," Haruhi breathed out and I blushed at the compliment. I wasn't used to my peers (besides the people I practiced with at the dojo) saying anything positive about it. Many of them thought that Aikido was worthless compared to martial arts like Karate, Tai Kwan Do and Judo. It was definitely nice to have my efforts appreciated, even if that wasn't why I did it in the first place.

I turned my head away from the girl to not allow her to see my red cheeks, and ended up meeting Mori-senpai's gaze. His eyes held warmth and understanding, and I nodded to him in thanks as my blush went down.

What a great bunch of people I'm getting to know.

They're much different from what I expected.

oOoOo

I had always thought that Josh would find out I was a girl by remembering those times when I had worn a dress, or how our parents would refer to me as her. Or maybe even find the box of tampons I had to buy for that horrible time of the month. I never thought that it would occur this way.

"I-I-I-I," Josh stuttered as he stared at me. I just calmly picked up the towel I had accidentally dropped and wrapped it back around me.

Yep, he had walked into my room when I had walked out of the bathroom after having a shower, and I had dropped the towel in shock.

There was no way he could deny that I was female now.

"_Where did those boobs come from?_" Josh shouted in English, shocked into speaking his first language.

"Puberty," I stated blandly, looking at him with heavy lidded eyes. Really, he should be thankful that I had little modesty. Most girls in my position would be screaming and throwing things. "And genetics," I added after a moment of his stupefied silence.

"Why do you act and dress like a guy?" Josh questioned, his eyes narrowing slightly. I wonder if he even realized that I was still standing here with only a towel to cover me.

"It's easier, as my boobs don't bounce when I use a binder." Heh, he winced when I said boobs. "Also, it's amusing."

Josh furrowed his brow and looked at me as if he was seeing an alien, "Amusing?"

"Hai, it's entertaining to see people treat me as a guy when I'm not. I also enjoy screwing with the minds of females." I admitted this last bit, having found this out about myself due to the Host Club. It probably wasn't the nicest thing in the world, but I never said that I was a saint. "They think I'm an attractive guy and I get to internally laugh at them."

"So cold," Josh muttered and I chuckled at him. It was a very true conclusion.

"So… we cool?" I asked, as I wasn't sure if he was going to act differently to me just because I was female. I was getting quite used to how we interacted.

Josh frowned and rubbed the top of his head in thought. I fiddled with the bottom edge of the towel as I watched him think, hoping for a positive response. After what seemed like ages, Josh nodded, "Yeah, we're cool."

I smirked slightly and punched him in the arm, causing him to squawk in indignation, "And you complain about being punched by a girl."

Josh scowled at me, "You're a very weird and strong girl, I think that my manly pride can survive." He then hooked an arm around my neck and gave me a painful noogie and I squirmed out of his hold, fixing my hair as I did so.

We both laughed slightly before I told him to get out of my room.

"Huh? Why?" He questioned, looking like a kicked puppy.

"You might have forgotten how you found out about this whole thing in the first place, but need I remind you that I'm still in only a towel." I then tightened the towel around my body as if to emphasize this point.

"O-oh," Josh stuttered, turning a fascinating colour of red. "I'll just be going now." I nodded patronizingly as he nearly flew out of the room.

Guys can be so silly sometimes.

Shaking my head, I dropped the towel and grabbed one of my breast bands, putting it on before pulling on a solid blue tee and a pair of black basketball shorts, as well as grabbing my glasses from the top of my dresser. Then I walked out to the living, watching in amusement as Josh muttered to himself about how he should've seen it.

He really should've.

Now I wonder if he's still willing to have an American Pie movie marathon.

oOoOo

There had been some remaining awkwardness, but eventually he had gotten used to the fact that I was a girl. Though the whole situation might have been caused by the fact that we were watching American Pie, but the fact that I was laughing made it less weird by the end of the first movie. All in all, I like to think we had a productive day by the end.

Now it was after school on Monday, with me not seeing anybody from the Host Club except Kyoya and Tamaki during, as Josh had monopolized my time during lunch. He had decided to interrogate me to see if I would be able to hide my gender from the club. For some reason he wanted to see how long I would be able to hold out. I wasn't really bothered either way, so I had agreed to humour him. He had actually told me some things that I wouldn't have thought about to stop certain things from happening, like, say, having to show my chest or if they insisted on being in the same changing room with me.

Shaking my head to rid myself of my thoughts, I pushed down the handle to walk into the third music room and blinked. It was a tropical paradise. I blinked again, wondering if I was hallucinating. But no, it was still there. "Huh," I exclaimed softly, slightly surprised. It was very different.

"Ah, there you are Yuuma-san," Kyoya said, bringing my attention to him. He was shirtless with an olive green wrap that hung low, held up by a long yellow sash and a thick golden necklace hung around his neck. "As you can see, today is themed, so we have a costume ready for you."

I blinked and nodded in confirmation, "Sounds fine." I just hoped that it didn't involve me being topless, as then it would ruin all of Josh's carefully laid plans. Kyoya led me to the changing rooms near the back, not saying anything else, pushing me inside to join the others.

I nodded casually to Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai, who stood in their boxers while the twins patted me on the back – hard – as they walked out. I rolled my eyes at their antics and grabbed the bag that hand my name on it, easily stripping down to my boxers (as I found them quite comfortable, though I only wore them for about three weeks a month… for obvious reasons) and undershirt.

"Ne, Yuu-chan, do you like the outfit?" Hani-senpai asked as he hugged my waist from the side, now in his costume for the day. I could see him in the mirror in front of me. He was shirtless like the twins and Kyoya were, showing off the muscles I had been sure he had, though they were quite lean, illustrating that he hadn't worked on bulking up, but more on usability. He had a yellow wrap with a pink pattern on the bottom that covered the pants he wore underneath with a purple sash to keep it from falling. He also had a red lei around his neck. All in all it played up his adorableness while showing that he actually was a senior.

I twisted my head to look down at him, "Un, it's nice and simple." And it was. Unlike the others, it had a simple knee length white tunic with gold edging and came with a rope to tie around my waist. Then there was a pair of golden coloured billowy pants that ended up tight at the ankles. It also had two golden wrist bracers. It was perfect.

I wonder if I could keep the pants after this is all done.

"That's good," he said enthusiastically, flowers blooming around his head. "Demo*, why are your legs shaved?" He dragged a hand down my hairless left leg and I tensed slightly at the touch before relaxing. I really had to get used to being touched, as it seemed like this club didn't believe in personal boundaries. But back on topic, it really was a good question, as what guy actually shaves his legs?

"Ara*, when I was eleven I went to a sleepover and was dared to wax my legs," I explained easily. I was telling the truth though, as I had been dared by my friends to wax my legs. "And I liked the feeling so I kept them hairless, except I shave instead, as waxing is painful."

"Ooooh," Hani-senpai nodded in understanding before letting go of my leg to climb onto Mori-senpai's shoulder. The tall senior would obviously grab a lot of customers today with his outfit. Just like the others, he was topless and I wasn't surprised by his toned body. He was wearing shin length dark pink, billowy pants that looked surprisingly good on him. He also had a sash over his shoulder that was gold with a red triangle design and a dark pink bandana tied around his head. "Come Takashi, let's go back into room, I want some more cake."

I shook my head in amusement at the small senior and quickly stripped off my shirt, pulling the tunic on quickly and tying the rope around my waist with efficient movements. I snapped the costume jewelry on and folded up my clothes before going back into the room. I had to admit that it was wonderfully done. I was actually quite surprised that this was even legal… or maybe it isn't and nobody actually cares.

I can just see the headlines now: 'High school Host Club fined for indoor jungle.' Snorting at my thoughts I walked towards the bar where Kyoya was writing something in that elusive black book of his. He would probably be the safest person to stay beside during this whole thing, as Tamaki was being harassed by the twins (again) and Hani-senpai looks like he would eat my hand if it even possibly smelled like cake. So yeah, Kyoya it was.

"Hello Kyoya-san," I greeted as I slid into the seat to lean an elbow against the bar. I covered my mouth with my hand as I yawned, blinking away the moisture that had appeared in my eyes.

"So the outfit fits," Kyoya commented, analyzing my outfit. "It looks good. I wasn't sure if you should be shirtless or not because you are too new to gain the same level of interest. I doubt you will have too many costumers today."

I scratched my cheek as I looked up to the pink ceiling in thought, "I don't think so either, so I guess I could, I don't know, take pictures of this if you wouldn't mind?" I turned my gaze to him, as I really wanted to take pictures of this, as it was just too unreal. I needed photographic evidence to show to Josh.

Kyoya folded his hands together in front of him, resting his elbows on the bar as he seemed to ponder my suggestion. "Hmm, seems like a plan then," he then procured a camera from out of nowhere, while I stared blankly at the contraption. And it deserves the name, as it was so high tech that I couldn't in good conscience call it a simple camera. "I'm sure that this will suit your needs."

I turned my face up to him to shot him a doleful look, "Hai… just give me a moment to figure out how this _contraption _works."

Kyoya chuckled and waved me off as I held the camera gingerly. Sliding off my seat, I stalked to the nearest table and began to fiddle with the thing for a few minutes. However, I wasn't able to graduate a year early for nothing, as I soon figured out the basics, like the fact that it was digital and which button captured the photo. Taking some test shots of the room, like some close ups of the flowers; I was soon taking sneaky shots of the hosts. While the photos were nothing professional, I would like to say that some of them turned out well. I think the one of Kyoya writing in his book with a look of concentration on his face was my favourite, but the one of Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai was definitely the cutest out them all. I have to admit the one with the twins pushing Tamaki's face into the ground was hilarious though, as I had somehow managed to get a good angle.

I like to think I was doing well at this.

But I probably sucked.

Laughing quietly at myself, I stopped taking pictures for the moment, as Kyoya waved me over. "It's almost time to open," Kyoya told us and I really got to survey the twins and Tamaki now that I could fully see them.

The twins had on these odd, low hanging necklaces – matching of course – blue plaid wraps held up by a thin orange sash and orange pants underneath. And of course, they showed off thin bodies that weren't muscular yet held a certain hardness that showed they weren't full of flab. Tamaki was dressed similar to me, except his tunic hung off of one arm with a short sleeve, fell to his shins and was bordered with red along the sleeve. With purple and red fabric hanging down the front, and a great deal of gold jewelry upon his person he looked every bit the aristocratic prince he portrayed himself to be.

My observations complete, I moved to stand beside Hani-senpai, the camera hanging off my neck, as we waited for the door to open. Not long after, the door opened to reveal… Haruhi. Well, I guess she was late for today.

"Welcome~" We all chorused, though I had to stop myself from laughing at the disgruntled expression she had on her face. Quickly swinging up the camera, I focused and took a quick snap shot, not wanting to miss the chance to document this. I snorted when a toucan landed on her head and pressed the button once more. She really had all the luck when it came to Host Club, huh?

"What?" The twins asked with bored expressions on their faces while Kyoya just pushed his glasses up, obviously contemplating something. "It's just Haruhi?"

"You're late," Kyoya stated unnecessarily. However, Haruhi ignored him as she looked at a calendar she had gotten from somewhere, muttering about something. Hani-senpai had gotten bored with the whole thing, and poked Mori-senpai behind me. Obviously this was some sort of signal as the two of them then began spinning around the room with Hani-senpai flying through the air… I was jealous of his small stature in that moment.

Tamaki, of course, chose that time to speak, waving around a fancy fan. "Fearing the chill and curling yourself up in a kotatsu* is nonsense!" I had no idea what that had to do with anything, but still listened on. He then dramatically posed, red roses appearing behind him, and I snuck the chance to take a picture as he talked nonsense, "What do you think we have this flawless air conditioning for?"

Haruhi, if it was possible, looked even more disgruntled than before.

I walked away from them, noticing the overly pleasant face that Kyoya had on and not wanting to be around when he gently threatens someone. It's actually scarier and more effective than out right, in your face threatening. Tuning out the chatter that Tamaki produced on a daily basis, I snapped a shot of the twins in their brotherly love pose. While I didn't personally appreciate it – more like I found it freaky – I could understand how some girls did.

I leaned up against a tree, looking down at the buttons to see if I could take motion shots, as then I could capture Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai together as they played.

That would make a nice picture, I think.

oOoOo

…_The Host Club is now Open…_

oOoOo

So far, no one had actually designated me, though I had talked to a couple of girls for a few moments between picture taking. I'll admit that I was taking this photographer thing a little too seriously. But it was so much fun! I've never really liked taking pictures of myself, but I could always appreciate taking pictures of other things. However, I was never allowed to use my parent's camera, so I'd never had a chance like this to go wild.

Ha, wild, jungle, get it?

I leaned up against a tree so that my hands would be steady as I did a close up of Tamaki and one of his regulars, thankfully far enough away that I wouldn't need to hear any of the genuine BS that he sprouted. Don't get me wrong, I think that Tamaki's a nice guy, but sometimes he's just a little too much for me. The fact that he manages to sprout such things off while still being completely true, is quite the skill set. I'm just thankful that I got out of serving drinks like Haruhi was, as she always ended up listening to the oddest conversations. Though her expressions were very interesting to capture, I must admit.

Shaking my head, I allowed a small smile to grace my face. I was looking from the outside in once more, and yet I didn't feel the same disconnected feeling that I had back home. Maybe it was because I was capturing snippets of life here and there… or maybe not? Who knows what I think anymore. This whole place is strange and wonderful and threatening at the same time… I don't even know if I'm talking about the Host Club, the school or anime Japan in general anymore.

"Yuuma-san?" A female voice asked, breaking me from my disjointed thoughts.

"Hai?" I queried, looking over to the girl in question. She was one of the girls who had designated me on Thursday and Friday.

"Would it be alright if we designate you?" She asked hesitantly, motioning to the two others behind her and I nodded with a polite smile.

"Of course hime*," I stated neutrally, leading her and her friends over to a nearby table. I pulled out the seats for them and helped push it in as a gentleman should before seating myself.

"Thank you very much Yuuma-san," Girl three – as I refer to her in my head – said in a flustered manner.

I smiled politely again, "It's my pleasure, hime." I placed the camera down on the table to get the heavy weight off my neck.

"So you were taking pictures?" Girl two asked, obviously trying to start a conversation. I wasn't really interested in making idly chit-chat at the moment, but played along.

"Yes, as I had no customers, Kyoya-san directed me to take pictures of the club." I just noticed that my speech seems kind of stilted when I talk. I sound so formal and rigid… ugh, this is what small talk does to me.

Evil, I say.

"Really?" Girl one asked while Girl two and three swooned for some reason. "Do you have any good shots?"

I laughed lightly and the three squealed. "I like to think I have," I told her with a chagrined smile. "Though I bet the camera has done all the work."

"I'm sure you're great," Girl two gushed and the other two nodded in agreement.

"You could show us some and we could tell you what we think," Girl one suggested lightly.

I hummed, pushing up my glasses as I thought over her proposal, ignoring the hearts that floated from them. "Sure, it would be a pleasure." I was soon flipping the camera towards them, easily going through the pictures I had taken.

"Kyaa~" Girl one swooned when she saw the brotherly love picture.

"Sugoi," Girl two muttered as she saw the scene with Tamaki and his rose background.

Girl three smiled in appreciation, "This is very good Yuuma-san, much better than any of the photos that are usually seen in the magazine that Kyoya-san publishes."

"Really?" I tilted my head in question before giving a small smile to her in thanks. "Thank you very much, hime."

She turned bright red while the other two squealed over… something, before she fainted. I blinked for a moment before looking at her in slight concern.

"Will she be okay?" I'm still not sure that it was perfectly normal to faint like that; I'm pretty sure that's a health condition.

"Don't worry," Girl two dismissed my concern. "She'll be fine."

"Oh," I looked down at the camera in my hands before smirking slightly. Okay, I'll admit that it's amusing to watch after all the concern is gone. I guess I'm a bit slow when it comes to reacting to this.

I wonder if those floaty hearts would appear on camera…

Let's see shall we.

oOoOo

I stretched out my arms and back as the last of the girls left for the day. While today had been quite fun, I was thankful that everything was over. Rolling my shoulders back, I watched with awe as a group of people unknown to me quickly and efficiently took down the decorations. Now that took some skill, as I bet they would be finished with everything by the time I would finish changing. Inclining my head in respect to one of the workers, I walked into the change room, ignoring the others changing back into their school uniforms.

I pulled off the wonderful poofy golden pants before turning to Kyoya, who had just shrugged on his button down shirt. "Hey Kyoya-san, do you think that I could keep these pants?"

Kyoya made no visible sign of hearing me, but answered as he buttoned up his shirt. "Yes, but it would have to come out of your pay."

I blinked a couple times before furrowing my brow in confusion. "I get paid?"

"Yes, of course," Kyoya said back coldly. "Not all the money the clients give us goes towards the budget."

I hummed in thought before shrugging and placing the pants into the costume bag. If I was getting paid, then I would wait and see how much I would gain before buying anything. And, for all I knew, the pair of pants could cost more than Josh and mine's weekly allowance.

I clicked off the bracers and untied the rope around my waist, putting them neatly upon the folded pants before turning to my own clothes. I grabbed my socks from the pile and sat down to pull them onto my feet, delaying the time for me to pull off the tunic. Thankfully the others were already finished by the time I had gotten to this part and had trudged (quite literally when referring to Tamaki) out of the changing area. Now that I was alone, I quickly shucked off the tunic and pulled on my undershirt. Not a moment too late neither, as Kyoya then walked back into the room to see me standing in my undershirt and boxers.

Picking up my uniform pants, I pulled them on while turning my head to Kyoya. "Was there something you needed?" I asked dully, truly curious as to why he needed to come back in.

"Yes, I was wondering how everything went with the camera," Kyoya stated as I slid my button down shirt on, beginning on fastening it together.

"It went well enough," I began vaguely, motioning my elbow towards the camera placed carefully on the floor. "But you can check for yourself."

"I shall," he promised with a hint of a pleasant threat and I had to stop myself from shivering. I hope he wouldn't be disappointed by the pictures I had taken… I'm pretty sure my life is on the line right now.

My fingers fumbled with a button as I tried not to panic.

Please God, Allah, Zeus, whoever is listening, please let those pictures be what he wants!

oOoOo

I leaned over Kyoya's shoulder as he picked the better shots from what I had taken that day. "That's a good one," I pointed to a picture of Haruhi smiling charmingly at her guests. We were currently ignoring the other hosts, as they were watching Tamaki pig out on ramen. Now I love ramen, but the way Tamaki eats it is rather off putting, especially since he seems to be in a morose mood.

"Tono, stop eating commoner noodles and help out planning for the dance party!" One of the twins called to the blond drama queen. I sighed in annoyance and straightened up from my position to watch whatever was going to happen. At least I know it will be entertaining with Tamaki involved.

"Is he so displeased with the fact that Kasugano-hime prefers Haruhi now?" The other twin questioned obnoxiously and I blinked. Obviously I had missed something important. I leaned against Kyoya's chair and looked down to Haruhi curiously, who looked as curious as I was.

Thankfully Kyoya chose that moment to speak up. "Her illness isn't something new," he said calmly, still flipping through the pictures; managing to confuse me even more with his statement.

"Illness?" Haruhi voiced the question I was wondering and I moved to stand behind her, as it seemed she would be the only one to make sense here.

"The 'host-wandering' illness," a twin explained with a bland look on his face, appearing behind Kyoya.

"In other words, the 'switch guys every now and then' illness," the other twin continued, popping out from behind the first. I marvelled at that, as I hadn't even noticed him before he brought attention to himself… creepy.

I tuned out Kyoya as he explained what the twins meant. I didn't really need to know that, as the host club has 'types' for a reason. So it would make sense for someone to go to the same host every time because they were their 'type'. To switch would bring attention to yourself, as it meant that you weren't very serious about the club (not that I would blame her for this one) but it meant that you have no 'type'… and everyone has a 'type'.

Hani-senpai hopped onto my back to speak to Haruhi and Kyoya, "Just before this, that favourite was Tama-chan, ne?" His arms dangled off my shoulders, with his pink stuffed bunny hanging from his left hand and his head rested on my right shoulder. I frowned slightly at what he said; I'm guessing that they were still talking about that switching girl.

I blinked to disperse the flowers that appeared in my vision from Hani-senpai as Haruhi deadpanned, "Ah, so it's just because his customer got snatched away." I'm going to guess she's talking about Tamaki's depressed behaviour.

"NO!" Tamaki shouted, appearing in front of us out of nowhere, causing me to jump and Hani-senpai to launch himself off my back. "That's not how it is!" He then lifted his right hand into the air in a righteous position, "All right, I can't stand it anymore!" He then pointed to Haruhi with a serious expression, "Haruhi-chan, look like a woman already!"

"Huh?" Haruhi sweat dropped at the absurd demand.

"Wow, you're an idiot," I commented emotionlessly making Kyoya and Hani-senpai turn to me.

"You know about Haru-chan, Yuu-chan?" Hani-senpai questioned, looking up at me.

"Hai, I saw her on the first day and noticed that she was female then," I told him, giving a look to Kyoya saying in not so many words that I had kept the secret till now, so there would be no need to threaten me. Kyoya nodded to me, acknowledging my silent words and turned back to his computer. "Does he even realize that I could've been clueless and could tell people?"

Kyoya chuckled lowly, "No, he is too much of an idiot to notice."

I sighed at my classmate as he ranted on about how Haruhi should be female. Does he not remember why she chose to cross dress in the first place? However, I became slightly worried when he grabbed a trunk from out of nowhere and began digging in it.

"You see, daddy… daddy wants…" He then pulled an impossibly large frame from the trunk and showed us all. It was an enlarged picture of Haruhi when she had long hair. I have to say that she actually looks better with short hair, but that might be because she has side bangs now, which framed her face better. "Daddy wants to see you when you looked like this!" Tamaki cried, tears streaming down his face as he made his demand.

I'm not sure what is more disturbing; the fact that he calls himself daddy or that he had a picture of Haruhi blown up and framed.

Haruhi had obviously had enough and exploded on Tamaki, "Don't blow up other people's photos without their permission!"

Sadly no one listened to her.

I sighed and closed my eyes in exasperation.

Just what was I getting into when I joined this club?

* * *

_Words: 9,963_

* * *

_Music: No pain, No game – Nano_

_Guren no Yumiya – Linked Horizon_

_Inner Ninja - Classified_

* * *

*Onigiri: A rice ball, usually with a small amount of meat or pickled item placed in the middle, sometimes wrapped in seaweed.

*Nori: A way of saying seaweed in Japanese.

*Sugoi: Wow in Japanese

*Tono: Can be spelt dono; roughly means lord in Japanese, often used in shounen manga and anime, but not commonly heard elsewhere except from foreigners, old people or as a joke.

*Demo: Meaning but in Japanese. As in, I liked him _but _only as a friend.

*Ara: Meaning 'oh' or 'oh dear' in Japanese.

*Kotatsu: a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself

*Hime: Meaning Princess in Japanese.

* * *

**Thank you to:**

**Rosezelene Ersa: **I make no promises that this will be a regular thing, but I will try! As for Hani and Yuuma getting along, for some reason, I can't see them NOT getting along. Hani because he is good at intializing conversations and used to having a silent/stoic companion because of Mori. While for Yuuma, she holds a great deal of respect for him because he IS good at martial arts (something that she values, even if she herself doesn't truly enjoy any other form but Aikido) from what she has observed and has learned from the internet while in her world.

Also, one has to remember, that even if Yuuma is rather neutral towards her gender, she IS a girl. She is swayed by certain things, like Hani's childishness and... the softness of his hair. ;) As mentioned, she feels sort of jealous by his ability to be joyful in the presence of a person he cares for, while she finds this hard to do herself. However, instead of this causing negative effects, she desires to be near (even slightly) him as a person who is able to express themselves so easily... And rant over.

Anyway, I'm glad that I was able to make you smile! *flowers swirl around* I hope that you continue to enjoy this.

**musiclover3:** Thank you so much for the review and follow! And your review is probably one of my favourites that I've gotten, it's things like that that make me want to continue writing. I hope that you continue to enjoy this story and don't become disappointed!

**Hani1412:** Thank you for following, I hope to not disappoint.

* * *

**A/N:**

Thoughts, feelings, critiques? Let me know!

USMCcAnthem


	5. Chapter 4

**Yuuma's Adventures with Josh the Sidekick**

_Summary:_ Yuuma Takahashi is tall, lazy and a little distant towards others. All Yuuma wants in life is to graduate, train in Aikido and watch anime. However, Yuuma is in for a surprise of a life time when she – yes, she – finds herself in Japan, and attending Ouran Academy of all places, and not the one she expected! Now she must deal with annoying hosts while trying to find how she managed to jump worlds, and if she'll ever be able to go back home. Well, at least she's not alone in this.

_Pairings_: Eventual Tama/Haru and ?/OC.

Legend:

"Blah, blah, blah." – Talking in Japanese

"_Gah, gah, gah."_ – Talking in English

(Japanese is now the main language used)

* * *

Chapter 4: Realities Stranger than Fiction

I stared at Tamaki's prone form in exasperation. After the twins had shown some interest in the picture, Kyoya had suggested mounting it on the way so that we could all assess it. Now all the hosts, beside Haruhi and myself were congregated around it.

"The more I look at it, the more I'm in awe," one of the twins commented, both of them standing, resting a hand on their hip. I turned to notice that Mori-senpai looked even more blank faced than usual, and wasn't really quite sure what to take his expression as. "How did 'this' become 'that'?"

It was a good question, compared to the picture Haruhi had looked like a ragamuffin on the first day, even if I did think that her raggedy bangs suited her more than the full frontal bangs. The hosts all turned to Haruhi inquiringly; Tamaki looking as if she was going to say that she did it on purpose.

"The day before the first day of school," Haruhi began to explain, "A kid in my neighbourhood put gum in my hair." She put a hand on the back of her head and I wiped any expression from my face at the deadpanned expression on the twins face so I wouldn't show my amusement. "So I cut it because it was bothersome. I really don't mind if I'm taken as a dude."

You and me both, Haruhi. You and me both.

"Gender neutral," I murmured, giving a name to my feelings. Really, what was wrong about not caring about your gender? Just because neither of us are truly aware of it, doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

Not that Tamaki agreed with this.

Tamaki picked himself up and shouted into Haruhi's face with tears streaming from his face, "Girls shouldn't use words like dude! Okaa-san*!" Tamaki cried, turning to the assembled hosts with a pitiful look on his face, knees together. Honestly, he was like a child some times. "Haruhi-chan's using foul language!" He sunk to his knees in despair, holding a handkerchief to his face to hide his tears.

I snorted and shook my head, walking up to Mori-senpai, who watched the whole scene impassively. "Bakayarou*," I muttered. Mori nodded, patting me on the head. I looked up at him and smiled slightly before switching my gaze to Kyoya as one of the twins – I wonder if I should try to figure out which is which – asked him, "Mom, being?"

Kyoya's face drooped slightly, "Position wise… probably me."

I snorted again and shook my head, oh lord this is crazy. Now I knew why hadn't watched much of the anime if this was happening.

"Besides," Haruhi caught my attention as started to speak again, standing over Tamaki with her hands on her hips, looking very much like a mother scolding a naughty child. "To pay off my debt before graduation, it's much easier being a host and getting designations than being someone who does trivial chores." She does bring up a good point, and really, does Tamaki want to enslave her to him until she manages to pay everything off? That would only cause her to rebel and feel discontented.

"By the way," one of the twins... I'm just going to say that it is Hikaru and screw everyone if it is right or wrong. Anyway, Hikaru spoke up, bringing Haruhi's attention away from the sobbing mess of a man known as our club president. "Do you have any ballroom dancing experience? That's a must for the party, eh?"

Huh, for once I can say that I'm thankful that my grandma insisted on making me a lady, for Haruhi looked pretty worried right now. Her face was glistening with sweat and her eyes were wide and seemed as though they had glazed over. "Eh? But… the party has nothing to do with my assignment, right?" Her head tilted to side slowly, as if she was trying to physically wrap her head around the topic. "I'm not interested in events and… Actually, I'd like to be absent-"

Tamaki finally seemed to have gotten over his crying jag and appeared behind her, eyes glinting. He then stood tall and brought a hand under his chin in a 'gentlemanly' move. Really, I think he has a book of moves that he practices, for those poses can't be natural. "No, ballroom dancing is common knowledge for a gentleman. If you want to take the path of the host that much," – for some reason, this is beginning to scream 'blackmail, blackmail' to me, but I haven't the foggiest reason why – "show me exactly how serious you are Haruhi-kun." Oh, I see what he did there with the honorific change.

Tamaki moved so it was like he was standing with an invisible dance partner, "If you cannot master the waltz in one week and show it off at the party…" He spun around before facing back at Haruhi to point dramatically in her face… bad breeding there Tamaki, mate, "You will have to expose yourself as a girl and will be demoted back to trivial chores!"

The look on her face… priceless.

"And you!" Tamaki spun around to point at me with the same fierce expression. "Do you have ballroom dancing experience?"

"Hai," I looked at him with heavy lidded eyes as he seemed to deflate.

"Then how do I know you will keep her secret?" He waved dramatically to Haruhi who had slouched forward, as if defeated. She did have quite the task ahead of her, so I don't blame her for her feelings.

Now would be one of those perfect times to reveal my status as a girl. I shot a look at Kyoya to see if he would say anything. And he did, just not what I expected. "Do not worry, we have already discussed" – if you count a glance and a nod a discussion – "him keeping the secret. It's safe."

Does he not know?

Hmm… I'll have to think on this later.

oOoOo

"Yuuma darling!" Josh greeted me the moment I walked into the apartment. I gave him a perturbed look as I slipped off my bulky black school shoes. He was freshly showered wearing nothing but a pair of navy pajama pants and a towel hung around his neck which he used to dry his hair. "You'll make dinner for little old me, yes?"

I sighed and nodded while dodging the hand that shot out to ruffle my hair. Quickly changing into grey sweats and a red faded, overlarge sweater to not ruin my uniform, I set about making some miso soup from a package – which actually wasn't that bad – and quickly cutting up some fish into a parody of sashimi. It wasn't the best meal I've ever made, but I needed to eat quickly so that I could make it on time to the dojo's late night classes, which started at seven fifteen, and it was already six by now thanks to Tamaki's drama.

"So what happened today?" Josh leaned against the bar, watching me make dinner. "Was there a cosplay today?"

"Hai," I placed the cut up fish onto two plates and passed one to him. I didn't start eating yet, waiting to see if it was safe or not by watching Josh's reactions. When he showed no outward sign of repulsion, I started in on my own while keeping a close eye on the soup. "It was a Bali cosplay." I tilted my head slightly before adding, "And I didn't need to show off my chest like the others."

Josh's eyes widened in surprise and swallowed before saying, "Really? You're lucky on that one. And Bali, so I guess that means we're on the second episode already." I'd watched episode one, four and sixteen of the anime and didn't really pay that much attention to them because of how weird it was. At most I had kiggled the characters, especially Haruhi (as the main), Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai. Because of this I knew that Haruhi's mom passed away some years ago and that Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai are cousins, with Mori-senpai practicing Kendo and Hani-senpai, Judo and Karate. However, much after that is lost to me, as I either forgot or didn't care to look up.

"Hn," I grunted in agreement, having taken a bite of fish. "What happens in the second episode?" I inquired after swallowing my bite and took the soup off the burner, pouring it into two separate bowls, "Here."

Taking the bowl from me, he smiled in thanks before answering my question. "Well, as you there was the Bali cosplay with Haruhi being late," he looked at me to confirm this statement to which I nodded. "After that is Tamaki panicking and demanding that Haruhi dress like a girl, there is the whole dancing challenge." He took a sip of his soup and looked at me curiously, "Do you know how to dance?"

I nodded, "My grandma made me learn." My grandma had been from a high class family and had the values of being a 'lady' bred into her since she was a child. Even if she had married my grandpa – who was from a working class family – and moved to Canada, she still tried to make sure that me and my mom were properly bred. I don't know how the fact that both me and my mom despise dresses and other lady-like manners, reflects on her. My mom had been on various sports teams when she was younger with mostly males for friends, before going to university and meeting my dad, who had been an international exchange student. And then there's me, a girl whose been mistaken for a guy every since the woman had died and I no longer had to go to those horrible lessons. I'd feel bad about disappointing her, if it weren't for the fact that she was a vicious old harpy.

"So you're safe from the lessons. And then at the end of the week is the ball, where Tamaki gets the club – now including you – to help get Kanako and her fiancé together before he heads off to England. In the end, Haruhi and Kanako kiss each other," Josh concluded, downing the rest of his miso.

"I don't even understand half of that," I muttered under my breath before finishing off my dinner. "But I need to get changed and head out before I'm late." Putting the dishes in the sink, I quickly grabbed my sports bag and slipped on a pair of canvas shoes. Before leaving I called back, "Itte kimasu.*"

"Itte rasshai!" Josh called from the kitchen and I sighed before closing the door behind me.

I strolled down the stairs, having left early enough to take my time, and walked out of the building into the dusk outside. Considering how late it was, and the fact that is still wasn't yet summer, I was grateful for the streetlights that lit up my path. I breathed in the night air and allowed my body to full relax, stuffing my hands into my pant pockets.

There's one thing that I truly miss about my hometown – besides my parents – and that is the walk to Sato-sensei's dojo. His dojo wasn't in the town proper, but was actually in front of his house. He had his house custom made, a design done by his lovely wife, and I loved the modern house and traditional dojo. While I wouldn't exactly say his house was on the outskirts of town, it was surrounded by forest. Everyone who wanted to visit would have to walk through the forest for ten minutes to get there, as it was used to calm your mind to be ready to learn.

The city streets just couldn't compare.

I smiled when I saw the dojo and sped up my pace.

But in the end, it didn't really matter if it wasn't the same as before.

As long as I had Aikido, I could never be truly sad.

oOoOo

There were a lot of things that I expected coming home to. Josh sleeping was one. Another was Josh watching anime. Heck, I even expected Josh to be watching porn!

But obviously Josh lives to break my expectations.

I curled my lip up in disgust as I stepped into the living room, surveying the dark room keenly. There were too bottles of alcohol that lay empty on the floor while Josh was passed out with his mouth gaping open nearby. He had gotten drunk and blacked out. I clenched my eyes shut and breathed out heavily in annoyance.

Idiot.

Frowning, I wondered how he had managed to get the alcohol in the first place, but discarded the thought, knowing it would get me nowhere right now. I shook my head and opened my eyes to stare dolefully at the older boy on the floor before picking him up princess style and taking him into his room. I grunted slightly at his weight, but managed to get into his room with little difficulty, dropping him without care onto his bed.

"_Idiot_," I voiced aloud, pulling a blanket over him before going back into the living room to grab the bottles. Washing them out in the sink, I couldn't help but gaze thoughtfully at them.

Did it help?

Did drowning your sorrows in a bottle really help?

I smiled slightly and shook my head.

I already knew the answer.

oOoOo

"Yuu~ I'm so tired!" Josh whined, hanging upside down off of my right shoulder. He had been unresponsive and childish when I tried to wake him up this morning. I'd ended up having dressing him, getting him ready for school (while popping some ibuprofen down his throat), dragging him out of the apartment and on to the bus, before carrying him the rest of the way to school.

"Shut up," I reprimanded him tonelessly, not in the mood right now to listen to his whining. It was his own damn fault for drinking himself unconscious. Damn, he should be grateful that I liked him as much as I did, because I hadn't spared Alex any pain when she'd passed out on my doorstep last year. I held on to the railing for dear life as I staggered up the steps, cursing the school for having so many stairs.

"Hello..." Kyoya started as he spotted me before trailing off at the sight of Josh. "Why are you carrying Josh-san," – I was surprised that he actually pronounced the idiots name right – "Yuuma-san?" He pushed his glasses up his nose and clutched his black book a bit tighter, as if wishing to write something in it.

I looked at him tiredly, "You don't want to know." Then I walked past him, not really caring at the moment if it seemed rude. I needed to get Josh, who was snoring by now, to his class. I shifted my grip on our bags and cursed Mrs Nelson for even mentioning this school.

Why'd it have to be so freaking large?

I finally made it to class 3-A after garnering a lot of attention from the student body and pushed open the door. "Yuu-chan?" Hani-senpai asked, looking at me in surprise. I just nodded to him, silently grateful that he didn't hug me like he usually would. "What's wrong with Jo-chan?"

"He's an idiot," I stated, not really willing to explain. "Where's his desk?" Hani-senpai seemed to understand my reluctance and pointed to the desk next to his. I grunted in confirmation before placing him in his seat. Dropping his bag on the floor and patting Hani-senpai on the head, marvelling at the texture of his hair, "Thanks, Hani-senpai."

He tilted his head up to smile at me, "It's no trouble, Yuu-chan." I nodded, my eyes softening unconsciously before inclining my head to Mori-senpai, who sat behind Josh. He looked at me curiously, though one could only tell if they were looking him in the eye… maybe that was why everybody though he was so emotionless, as many were afraid of looking others in the eye. Smirking, I poked Josh – who currently looked like death warmed over – in the back of the head, which caused him to face plant on the desk, yet didn't wake up.

"I'll be going then," I said in farewell and stalked off towards my classroom with a slow gait. I wasn't sure if I would be late or not, but decided not to worry about it. I could walk faster if I wished, but I didn't see myself doing that anytime soon.

Sighing, I placed my bag on properly before shoving my hands in my pockets. It was odd to deal with Josh like that as he tended to be a lot more put together. Yeah he tended to break anything house work related and had fewer manners than a hobo at times, but he usually was awake and outgoing. Maybe the situation finally hit him. I wonder if he truly understood what it meant to be in a whole new world. He probably didn't, it would explain why he had such a stupid thing.

Will he talk to me about it when he finally comes to his senses?

I hope so.

oOoOo

"Quick, quick, slow." Kanako, a pretty brunette girl who was helping Haruhi learn how to dance, instructed Haruhi while music played in the background. This was apparently the same girl who caused this whole mess in the first place, and I couldn't help but feel annoyed by her. So I wasn't watching them, instead finding the depressed Tamaki a more interesting sight to gaze at. "Quick, quick, slow."

Hani-senpai had managed to pull Mori-senpai into dancing with him… or well, it was more like spinning around the room, and I had to duck slightly to avoid his feet.

"Very nice, Haruhi-kun," Kanako complimented Haruhi, and I turned to see the awkward look on my kohai's* face. Yeah, she's not doing so well right now. However, I doubt Haruhi would stop trying to learn until she manages to get everything down; not wanting to be chained to the Host Club forever without it being her own choice. "Put your feet together at slow. The gentleman must lead. Look carefully at your female partner."

"Hai…" Haruhi answered back awkwardly before she tripped and ended up on top of Kanako. I snorted at that; any normal guy would kill themselves to get in that position, but luckily for Kanako, Haruhi wasn't any guy… or even male at all. "I'm so sorry, Kasugasaki-san!" I shook my head as I watched the Kanako girl wind her hands up around Haruhi's neck, not really wishing to watch such an awkward scene.

I walked up to Kyoya who was standing a bit away from the others, side-stepping the twins as I did so. "Would you like to dance Kyoya-san?" I asked blandly, pushing up my glasses as I added, "I would be willing to let you lead."

Kyoya glanced up from the clipboard he was holding to regard me curiously. After a moment, he nodded, "Let's dance then." He placed the clipboard on a nearby table before extending his hand out like a true gentleman.

I took his hand with a mock curtsy which caused him to chuckle before he pulled me to the open area. I easily placed my other hand on his shoulder, not twitching in the slightest when his hand came to my waist, unlike my unusual reaction to being touched. I let him lead, falling back on the many classes I had done to guide me, and looked up into Kyoya's grey eyes. I've always found grey eyes fascinating, and that's not just because I have them. To me, grey eyes stand out, giving an alluring quality to a person's face. Whether it's attractive or not is another thing, but grey eyes demand attention. And Kyoya's eyes, already so proud and composed, demand mine. His eyes are a darker shade than mine, having flecks of black and dark grey in them.

It suits him.

All of a sudden, Kyoya twirls me, and I allow my body to just flow with the movement. Now don't go getting any ideas that I'm a good dancer. However I know how to let myself move, a necessary skill to have when practicing Aikido, or you would end up being injured more often than not. I'm good enough at the Waltz (and swing dancing, but that's because I learned it in gym class) to be able to pull off a little more than the basics.

Coming back to Kyoya, we did some more of the basic steps before he stopped and stepped away from me with a bow. I replied with another mock curtsy.

The twins clapped from the sides and I turned to curtsy to them as well, my face blank in a way that was probably more comical than off putting. "Thank you," I said dully when I straightened up and the twins laughed at me.

"You were correct in saying that you had ballroom dancing experience," Kyoya commented as he walked back the table where he had placed his clipboard. "Have you had to follow often?"

I nodded and said monotonously, "My grandmother wanted a granddaughter, but got me instead" – a more feminine granddaughter, I added silently – "so she would force me into being the female when dancing. This way I learned both parts quite well."

"Your grandmother sounds horrible," Karou, I guessed it was him due to the higher voice, said shocked.

"She was, but then she died and everything was better," I sighed contentedly, ignoring the shocked looks from the twins and the calculating one on Kyoya's. Mentally rolling my eyes at them, I walked over to the depressed Tamaki and offered my hand, "You would like to dance?"

Tamaki's depression fell off of him and he smiled happily, "Certainly my dear brother!" He then jumped up from his spot and proceeded to drag me to the open space, leading me in a waltz.

I'm his brother now…

I thought maybe his son, but I guess the fact that we are the same age changes things.

The fact that he considers me a part of his family warms me somehow.

I'm not sure what to think.

oOoOo

It all comes back to calculus, doesn't it?

I sighed and pushed my hand through my hair in aggravation as I punched the numbers into the calculator. Really, why must I constantly torture myself with such horrid classes? And this time I couldn't blame it on my mom.

It was the second day of the week in which Haruhi learns how to dance and I was already tired of it; though this may have to do with the plan that Tamaki had cooked up. Yesterday, after I had finished my dance with Tamaki – who had gone back to his emo corner – I had danced with Karou (or who I thought was Karou) and Hani-senpai so that I could show that I was able to lead. It was during my dance with Hani-senpai that Kanako and Toru – who Hani-senpai told me was her fiancé – had the whole tension filled meeting. And Tamaki, being the meddler and people pleaser that he is, decided that he needed to do something about it… thus creating the plan.

Really, the plan was quite simple, but I didn't really appreciate it, as I would have to do the most work. Because while the rest of them are making Haruhi into a girl, I would be the only host left on the floor… meaning I would have to dance. A lot. I'm not sure if I should feel left out, being the only one not included in the main plan. I guess this is how Hani-senpai feels when Tamaki tells him to go eat cake, but at least he gets to do something he enjoys.

But it's okay, as I've decided to drag Josh with me as payback for making me carry him to school. He still hasn't told me what caused him to drink like that (or where he got the alcohol from), but I knew he would tell me when he was ready. I wasn't about to go pestering him about it, as that would take too much effort that I don't have to exert… that and I don't want to bother Josh.

I may be lazy, but I do care.

And I managed to stray away from the topic again. Calculus. I groaned softly before plugging the numbers from the calculator back into the question.

I hate calculus.

oOoOo

I breathed out slowly, relaxing my body into a more natural position as I prepared for the boy in front of me to attack. He stood in a low position, arms held out in an aggressive gesture before he ran forward. I side stepped and shot out to grab his hand and pulled forward, his body falling forward. He caught himself, rolling instead of face planting before running at me then moment he recovered. I twirled around in a fluid motion and executed a similar move, causing the same reaction.

I took a deep breath and relaxed as our sensei called a halt to the demonstration that we had been doing for the rest of the class. We both bowed to each other in acknowledgement before joining the rest of the class on the floor to listen to the sensei explain what I had been doing.

While I already knew it, I listened intently, wanting to hear it from a different point of view, because he might have some piece of advice that I don't know, or wouldn't understand.

It was only in times like these that I truly didn't allow myself to be lazy and slack off. Aikido was food for my soul and I just sucked it all in. I smiled in a way that would cause all those that know me at school or back home to recoil in shock. Anyone who's seen me practice would know that I was almost always smiling, and would probably be surprised to see my expression in any other position besides focused and happy.

It was during this time that I let all the stress from school, the dance, Josh and other worries all roll off my shoulders. I closed my eyes briefly before turning back to my sensei as he showed the move I had done earlier on another student. His movement was flashier than I was used to, but I could see something in it that I could use for myself.

Now to test it out…

I beamed at my practice partner, who rolled his eyes at me.

Yeah, they were too used to my enthusiasm.

oOoOo

It was the day of the dance and I'll admit to being sick and tired of it. Not only did this damn thing cause me to have to extend effort, and wear a tux, I had to deal with Josh ignoring me. The guy had started to avoid me after I came home from school on Wednesday. I'm not sure if he had found out about my plans to drag him to the dance – which he managed to dodge, dammit – or if he was afraid to talk to me about his drinking binge. Either way I wasn't very impressed.

I sighed in annoyance as I straightened the tie I was wearing. I was grateful that the twins had picked out something that would actually look good on me (I didn't really find Haruhi's suit all that appealing). It was a simple black suit with a silver button down shirt, an ice blue tie and handkerchief in the breast pocket. They had, after a great deal of glaring on my part, allowed me to keep my glasses instead of the contacts they had tried to give me. I hadn't won the fight about my hair though, so it was styled to give me a false cowlick in the front with the rest of the hair pushed back away from my face. I'll admit that I looked quite handsome tonight.

At least they weren't involving me with the plan, so I wouldn't end up in a dress or something equally horrendous.

Yay for them not knowing my true gender!

I stood between Kyoya and Haruhi on the steps facing the grand ballroom. I had gotten here earlier in the evening (because the bus had been quicker than I had expected) and I had seen how large it was when the lights were on. It was crazy that they would have such a grand place for a dance. Really, back home, it was either going to the old recreation centre or the high school gym. And they have an orchestra… I feel really depressed at the comparison.

Sighing once more, I straightened my back and plastered a neutral expression upon my face, ready for whatever they would throw at me. I wouldn't show my annoyance, for I was in this club on my own prerogative, so I had no reason to complain like Haruhi did.

Even if I was just as annoyed.

Damn puppy dog eyes.

I caught myself before my face settled into a glare and took deep breaths, settling into a pattern. Thinking of something to distract myself, I thought of the walk to the dojo back home. Refreshing air brushing against my skin, the creaking of the swaying branches, the rustle of leaves brushing up against each other; I relax minutely at the imagery and allowed a small smile to crack through my façade. I could do this. I would dance tonight and I would not complain about how much work it was…

Or well, not until afterwards.

Finally the clock stuck, and the chimes rung through the ballroom. I closed my eyes for a brief second before opening them as Tamaki's voice rung out suavely, "To all you little lambs who have gathered here tonight at the Ouran Host Club dance party…" He paused for a moment, bringing a bit of drama to his greeting as the lights began to turn on, "Welcome."

The other hosts and I all bowed to the girls standing in all their finery, acting like the gentlemen we pretended to be. The hired orchestra flared to life, their harmonious music soothing me like the sounds of the forest while the guests clapped. Straightening with the others, I gazed out at the ballroom, marvelling at all the different dresses and colours that everyone wore. I'll admit to being a little disappointed that everyone here seemed to have small breasts… I'm not a pervert okay! But really, did my German heritage have to show in the form of large breasts? I was hoping that I could find a girl to sympathize with me.

I'll admit that the main reason why I found Alex such a good friend was because she could sympathize with me… even if hers were quite a bit bigger than mine and she didn't really know I had boobs in the first place.

And isn't that a scary thought.

Kyoya soon spoke up, looking quite handsome at the moment, his baritone voice very inviting, "We wish you to enjoy this dance with all of our Host Club members. Also, to the lady who displays the best dance, to the guest who is chosen as queen tonight… you shall receive a warm kiss from our king on your cheek."

Ah, the bribe. I guess that they couldn't have it on the lips to save Tama- I mean, the girls' first kiss. Ha.

"Do your best, baby…" Tamaki encouraged in a tone that attempted to sound alluring, but came out sleazy. And though I couldn't see him, I could just tell that he had blown a kiss out to the crowd. If only because of the fangirl squeals currently ringing through my head, making my eyes spin from the pitch.

Damn squealing.

Looking to my right, I saw Haruhi slumped over, obviously not excited about this dance. I understood, but didn't allow my posture to change as the twins came up behind Haruhi. "Haruhi, you don't look too enthusiastic," they said in their creepy unison voice.

"I'm not used to these events," she tried to explain, not looking at them. "As far as dance parties are concerned, I've only been to the bon-dori* in the neighbourhood."

I heard scribbling from behind me and backed up a bit until I was beside Kyoya, facing the trio of first years. "I probably wouldn't call that a dance party," Kyoya said, sounding pleasantly patronizing. "What about you Yuuma-san? You're a scholarship student as well."

The twins turned to me as well and I shrugged. "I don't think that the dances in the gym or recreation centre count as dance parties either," I deadpanned. "More like _mosh pits_ or funeral parlors." This last definitely described the dances my grandma made me attend when she was alive. I'm just thankful that I had been young enough that I had been able to entertain myself with trivial things. I don't think I would've been able to survive them at the age I am now.

"You have such an odd way of describing things," the twins deadpanned. I didn't grace them with a response as I looked over to Kyoya's clipboard where he was writing down my response… he spelt mosh pits wrong.

That's entertaining.

Kyoya just smiled at the two of us 'commoners' and nonchalantly added, "Maa, at least have a taste of the food here. It'll be a treat."

Haruhi perked up and turned to peer at Kyoya with a strange look on her face, "Treat? Like Ootoro*?"

Hmm… that would actually be quite nice. Though, I'll admit to being a saba* fan myself. Although, that may have to do with the fact that I prefer simple foods over extravagant ones, even if I can appreciate some fancy foods every so often.

The Host's reactions weren't as easy going as mine.

Kyoya froze, his grip on his mechanical pencil becoming so tight that it snapped, sending the others into a tizzy. Hani-senpai – who looked very sharp in his white suit – and Mori-senpai – whose tux was similar to mine, except with a more traditional feel with a white bowtie and shirt – stood in shock, staring at Haruhi with wide eyes as I turned to look at them. I bet that anyone could push Hani-senpai off of Mori-senpai's shoulders and neither of them would react. But I wouldn't do that… really. Anyway, there were two identical exclamations of surprise, showing that the twins held a similar sentiment to the two seniors. However, it was Tamaki that had the greatest reaction.

"Ootoro!" He cried, paling for a second before becoming determined and flipping over the balcony like a gymnast, he landed between Haruhi and I in a crouch and turned to Kyoya who had moved to the other side of the stairs while I had been examining Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai. "Get us some Ootoro immediately!"

He's acting like she needed Ootoro to live; I smirked in amusement and leaned against the wall. I looked out at the guests, some of which were watching the scene unfold like it was their favourite drama on television. And it was... just not in this world.

"Add some premium sushi to that as well," Kyoya spoke into a phone as I turned back to the drama. The twins were muttering under their breath as they rubbed their cheeks against a red faced Haruhi, with Hani-senpai watching them happily from Mori-senpai's shoulder.

"Damn you rich bastards," Haruhi said mutinously, crossing her arms while trying to ignore the twins closeness to her.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. Really, she should be thankful that they care enough to get her some Ootoro, even if they were a little too dramatic about it. They could've scoffed at her request or even laughed in her face, not comforted her and ordered it.

I hope they wouldn't mind me sneaking some as well.

oOoOo

"Yuuma-san," a pretty brunette wearing a simple, yet elegant, blue dress spoke. I turned to her with a polite smile and bowed shallowly.

"Hello hime," I greeted, recognizing her as one of the girls who had become a sort of regular to me before the Host Club closed for the week. "It's nice to see you again." I wasn't lying, as though this girl – who I recognize to be Girl three – could swoon with the best of them, she didn't try to force me to talk too much, especially after she realized my awkwardness when it came to small talk. Instead she had let me listen – as much as I was willing to – and relax.

"You as well Yuuma-san," Girl three smiled, showing perfect white teeth that I bet her parents spent thousands on. "I'm glad to be able to see you again after the week the Host Club was closed," she spoke softly and with a hint curiosity in her tone. "I heard that Haruhi-san was learning to dance, did you need to as well?"

I shook my head, "Iie*." Then I decided that I might as well get this all over with and extended a hand towards her. "Shall I prove it to you?" I asked monotonously but with a small smirk, as if challenging her. I might as well have fun if I was going to have to exert so much energy. Besides, this is kind of like the biggest middle finger I could ever give my grandma: I was cross dressing as a guy, in a dance where everyone thinks I'm a guy, about to dance the waltz which she made me learn. Really, this is a win for me.

I inwardly cackled as Girl three accepted my hand before twirling her onto the dance floor.

Let the games begin.

And may the odds be ever in your favour.

Ha. Did you see what I did there?

No?

Oh well, I still think it's funny.

That counts for something.

oOoOo

After dancing with Girl three, Girl one and two took turns to dance with me as well, giving similar greetings as Girl three. However, I was finally allowed a break as none of the other girls seem to want to dance with me yet as the other hosts were still on the dance floor. I strolled over to the snack table, spotting the platter of sushi that had seemed out of place among the western delicacies.

Shrugging, I grabbed a glass plate a picked up a couple different types of fish (along with Ootoro) and some crackers with caviar. My thoughts were that I might as well enjoy this while I could. I went over to a nearby wall, leaning on it casually before slowly digging into the expensive food.

I hummed at the taste and allowed myself to enjoy the delicacy, ignoring how some of the girls had turned to watch me. I guessed that they were enjoying the novelty of a scholarship student, especially since Haruhi wasn't doing much but leaning against a pillar.

"Yuu-chan!" Hani-senpai chirped as he launched himself at me. I quickly moved my arms out to the side, my now empty plate in one hand and some beautiful saba in the other. He collided with my body, legs wrapped around my waist and his arms around my neck. "How are you enjoying the party?"

I looked into uncomfortably close warm brown eyes and answered casually, "It's been pretty nice. My regulars, as I guess you could call them, have danced with me already and the food is quite good as well." I turned my head to the right and finished my bite of fish. Savoring the taste, I slowly chewed before swallowing.

"Oh no!" Hani-senpai cried, bringing my attention back to him. His big eyes were full of tears as he looked at me with such a heart broken expression that I froze. "We never asked you what you wanted! I'm such a horrible person!"

My eyes widened in panic, not expecting this kind of reaction from the small senior. I shushed him lightly, bringing my now free hand to rub his back consolingly. "It's okay Hani-senpai, I'm fine with anything." Please don't cry, I internally pleaded, I don't want Mori-senpai to kill me for upsetting you.

"Really?" Hani-senpai asked hopefully. I nodded seriously, wanting him to not cry. Older than me or not, he was still freaking adorable. He broke into a cute smile, flowers appearing around him like only an anime character could achieve. "That's good!" He chirped, eyes crinkling up at the sides, showing the sincerity of his smile. However his expression soon turned serious, causing me to throw him a curious look. "Call me Hani-kun," he demanded, looking straight into my eyes.

I blinked, why would he want that? Eh, it wasn't like he would hurt me to do that. It has fewer syllables too. "Okay… Hani-kun," I rolled the name over my tongue, testing it out before nodding. Yes, I much preferred to use –kun over senpai.

Hani-kun smiled at me with a pleased blush spread across his cheeks and more flowers appeared around his head. "Thank you so much Yuu-chan!" He then jumped off me and grabbed my plate from me, placing it on a nearby ledge. "Let's dance together, ne?" He asked, tilting his head to the side cutely.

I chuckled at the muffled squeals I heard from the eavesdropping girls but nodded to his question, allowing him to drag me out to the dance floor. Gliding past the ogling girls, we made our way to an empty area and eased into position. Finding the pace of the music, I led him in a simple waltz, twirling him around a couple times for fun. We danced for a bit like this until the signal was raised and he disappeared with the others to give Haruhi a makeover.

And now comes the hardest part of the night.

Dancing like I've never danced before.

Crap.

oOoOo

I yawned as I changed out of my suit and into my street clothes. I had been a really long night and I was thankful that it was all over. I slipped on my baggy blue t-shirt as I thought over the rest of the night. Tamaki and Haruhi had done a good job, as Kanako and Toru (who was apparently Kanako's fiancé) had danced together for the last dance. It was extremely romantic, what with the sakura petals falling around them as they swayed to the music outside. Really, there couldn't have been a better setting for them.

Of course what had happened after that was freaking hilarious.

I'd been standing between Hani-kun and Mori-senpai, close enough to feel the warmth radiating off of the two of them. I'd been watching the bumbling couple before the announcement. Kanako becoming the queen of the dance did not surprise me, as she did technically have the best dance (especially since everybody had stopped to watch) and because everybody had been awed by the romantic scene.

The fact that Haruhi had to kiss Kanako did.

But then again, it shouldn't have. Remembering back to what Josh had said earlier that week, I really should've expected something like that happening.

It was a really nice ending to the night – even if Tamaki screwed it up, making the two girls kiss each other on the lips – and I'm glad that everybody ended up happy.

Except for my feet.

Plopping to the ground, I lifted my right foot onto my lap to massage it for a second before pulling on my vans and repeating the gesture with my left. I yawned again and I wearily rubbed my eyes, pushing my glasses up as I did so.

"Yuuma-san?" A deep voice asked, startling me as I jumped up to my feet, nearly losing my glasses from the action.

"Wha-?" I looked up wildly before calming down, realizing that it was just Mori-senpai standing in front of me. "Oh Mori-senpai, what did you need?" I asked in my usual emotionless voice now that I was back to normal.

He looked down at me, giving a once over of me before staring into my eyes. Examining him, finding him changed out of his formal attire into more casual clothes with a large white bag over his right arm, I realized what he wanted.

I grabbed my jacket from the chair I had thrown it over and pulled it on before grabbing the bag that held my suit I had worn for the night. I then nodded to him in confirmation, letting him know that I was excepting his invitation of a ride. He placed a hand on my head for a moment before grabbing my suit bag and walking out of the room I had been changing it, with me following behind him.

Man my feet hurt; I couldn't help but internally whine as I looked down at my feet tiredly, trying to stop myself from stumbling. A large hand closed over my left arm and pulled me slightly out of the way of a pillar that I would swear popped out from out of nowhere. I peered up at him to smile sheepishly before looking back down at me feet as they began to drag, secretly thankful that he hadn't released my arm after stopping me from making a fool out of myself.

"Thank you," I mumbled as we walked outside into the cool night air. I inhaled the sweet scent of sakura, closing my eyes in bliss for a moment before continuing on to the limo that was pulled up in front of the building. Sliding in awkwardly, I spied Hani-kun sleeping on one of the long leather seats and smiled slightly at the innocent picture. I buckled into the seat and looked up as I relaxed into the leather seat. The sunroof was open to show the night's sky, stars winking cheerfully down at earth with the moon shining bright.

Beautiful, I couldn't help but think as I sighed.

"Your welcome," came the belated reply from Mori-senpai and I turned to see him sprawled in his seat, the moons light giving his face a shadowed appearance. However, it just emphasized the sharp planes of his face and gave his eyes an almost ethereal glow to them. Beautiful, I repeated to myself before allowing my eyes to drift shut, ignoring how warm fingers brushed my face as they removed my glasses.

This turned out different from what I expected.

But I wouldn't change it for the world.

* * *

_Words: 7,773_

* * *

_Music: Yuniba Page – Suzuko Mimori _

_One Foot – Fun_

_Chills – Down With Webster_

_Salute – Little Mix_

* * *

*Okaa-san: A way of saying Mom is Japanese.

*Bakayarou: A way of saying Idiot or Fool in Japanese.

*Itte kimasu: Meaning 'I am going' in Japanese.

*Itte rasshai: Meaning 'See you' in Japanese.

*Kohai: A way of referencing an underclassmen in Japanese.

*Bon-dori: a festival-like dance done in the fall that welcomes the spirits that return in a year.

*Saba: Mackerel in Japanese.

*Ootoro: Also known as fatty tuna. It is a type of sashimi that is actually quite good.

*Iie: No in Japanese.

* * *

**With special thanks to:**

**musiclover3: **Thank you very much! I usually don't have chapter titles, but it seemed fitting for this story. I'm glad you think I deserve more reviews, but I'm perfectly fine if I don't get much, so long as people enjoy the story... and doesn't that sound really cheesy? I'm excited that you like my OC's and can relate to Yuuma, as I do try to keep the characters as realistic as possible.

**xblackwingedangelx: ***dies of happiness* Bwah~ Thank you so much for such a lovely compliment! I'm glad that you like this so far and endeavor to not let you down! And I really love OC stories, but sometimes they either begin to drift (by adding unneeded information or lost track of what is happening, which I've done before) or they just copy from the anime and don't add anything else to it... I just hope I don't end up doing the same thing. *crosses fingers*

**Llady Llama:** Thanks for the follow, I hope you enjoy this update!

**Wrath of Selene: **Thank you so much for the favouriting and following this story, I hope you continue to enjoy this!

* * *

**A/N:**

I keep on thinking that I've mentioned that Josh is now on the Ouran soccer team, but I keep on checking back and don't find this. I don't want him to be on the soccer team, and I don't want to be inconsistent. *finally finds a problem with long chapters* I'll admit that I need to start writing small notes here and there to keep track.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

USMCcAnthem


End file.
